Voting Begins
The process of electing a democratic candidate starts in Missouri.
PHOTO | Todd L Church
Bernie Sanders speaks at a rally in Traverse City, Michigan ahead of the March 10 primary election. 03/04/2016
The Missouri Democratic primaries begin Tuesday, March 10, with voters choosing between Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Tulsi Gabbard.
“I want to vote because I want to make the country better for my parents and my future kids more than for myself,” senior Nora Weir said. “I’m ready to make a change in our country.”
The Democratic primary elections help determine who will be the candidate for the Democratic party in the general election. The candidate that is picked will be running against incumbent President Donald Trump.
“It’s important to vote in these preliminary elections because it’s such a big decision,” senior Lily Henkle said. “If I can do my part to pick the right person, I’m going to.”
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden addresses supporters during a campaign rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit, on Monday, March 9, 2020.
Biden is currently predicted to win most of Missouri and about 42 of the 68 delegates Missouri has, according to FiveThirtyEight. The delegates in Missouri are split up with 44 of them being given to the candidate that wins the eight congressional districts, with each district having a specific amount of delegates of that 44 to give. St. Louis’s district, for example, has eight delegates. The remaining 24 delegates are determined by the statewide voting totals.
“We try to encourage participation in any election by encouraging or allowing that to be part of the civic participation project,” AP Government and Politics teacher Jenny Brown-Howerton said. “So if you register to vote you get a half of a credit, if you vote you get half of a credit.”
Most voting stations will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., so students can go before or after school. There are voting stations in every county. To access their voting location, voters can visit this website and put in their zip code and address.
“I usually go [to vote] on my way home from school,” Brown-Howerton said. “I pick up my kids, and then I take them with me because I think it’s important that they also know that that’s an important process.”
Voting in the primaries is very important, even though primary elections tend to get much less voter turnout than the general election, according to FairVote. The primary elections help direct the course of action long before the general election, and it is important to fulfill civic duty and vote in them as well as the general election, according to Weir.
“I decided to vote because it’s important to exercise my right as a citizen,” Henkle said. “Everyone needs to participate in politics for them to work correctly.”