What you need to know about Super Tuesday

On Tuesday, March 3, California will vote in the presidential primary along with 13 other states and American Samoa. It’s the biggest single day of primary and caucus voting in the presidential nominating process, hence the name “Super Tuesday.” The Golden State will have 415 Democratic delegates and 172 Republican delegates up for grabs.

Professor Dari Tran from Pacific’s Department of Political Science explains what Super Tuesday is all about and why young people should participate.

Q – Why is it so important that people vote?

A – It is extremely important to vote, particularly for young people. If you don’t vote, elected officials can — and will — ignore you.

If young people aren’t showing up to elections, it’s easy to take things away from them. Younger people need to take this seriously because it is a simple act that could change a whole election.

Q – Explain what’s happening Tuesday.

A – March 3 is the primary election before the general election in November. The primary allows voters to pick the final candidates for the slate in November, but not everyone can vote in the primary in a presidential election year like this one.

For example, if you are a registered Republican in California, the Republican Party has decided not to open up a primary. They decided to give it to Trump. Thus, a registered Republican would need to officially change their party in order to vote in the primary.

The parties in California that are holding a primary on March 3 are the American Independent Party, the Democratic Party and the Libertarian Party.

People that have an undeclared party identification have to announce ahead of time what party’s primary they’re going to vote in. They send you a notification ahead of time if you are a “decline to state” voter asking which primary you will be voting in. You can even send in your vote via postal mail (if you are a vote-by-mail voter).

California has had a modified open primary system, where it’s a top-two primary system since 2014. In non-presidential, even-numbered-year primary elections, you don’t have to be a member of a certain party to vote for a certain candidate. You can be affiliated or unaffiliated with a party, and you get to choose the person you want to appear on the November ballot.

Q – How would a Pacific student who lives on the Stockton campus vote if they’re from outside the county?

A – You can register to vote at a polling place the day of the election. If you’re voting for the first time, you’ll need to provide proof of ID and residence. Here is a list of accepted forms of ID and residence.

If students want to vote on their home county issues this fall, they can register to vote in their home county and then request a vote-by-mail ballot. They can then return that vote-by-mail to a polling place in Stockton.

Another option is to change your registration to Stockton, but that would need to be done ahead of time (by the Oct. 20 registration deadline).