2008 Woodie Awards
Super Tuesday
Primary election season intensifies with voting
Ben Roffee
Issue date: 2/5/08 Section: News
Today, Feb. 5, Students, Faculty, and Staff at Cal State San Marcos will stake their claim in the 2008 Presidential race when they join Millions of Californians at the voting booth to select delegates in the 2008 Presidential primary elections. In a day known best as "Super Tuesday", voters from 23 other states move alongside California to award delegates to candidates for the party's nominations at the national conventions set to take place this coming summer.
In what will be the largest to date of this already critical day in the primary election season, "Super Tuesday" offers to candidates more delegates than can be won on any other day in the primary election. As citizens of California, CSUSM students registered to vote have the opportunity to dramatically influence the outcome of the primaries as residents of the largest delegate contributing state in the nation.
The staggering complexity of the Presidential primaries presents a stark contrast from the relatively simplicity in the General Presidential Election that follows. Varying rules and formats from state to state and party to party make the nomination process intensely unpredictable. Unlike in the General Election where candidates seek electoral votes, the primaries see candidates campaign for nominations from party delegates that represent each state. While most states use the primary election system, other states like Iowa choose to award delegates to a candidate based on the outcome of large meetings known as caucuses. In both cases, these delegates then go on to each party's national convention to determine who the nominee will be.
Since the 90's, California's primary election system has changed 3 times. Until 1996, California used a "closed" primary system, allowing only registered members of a party to vote on a party's ballot. With the passage of Proposition 198, Californians adopted an "open" primary system to allow voters to select a candidate regardless of political affiliation. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court determined the "open" primary system to be a violation of a political party's First Amendment right to free association, thus ushering in the current "modified closed" primary system under SB 28. If a party so chooses, they can notify the Secretary of State to permit unaffiliated "decline to state" voters to participate in their primary.
Since primaries are held at different dates and early performances set the tone for a campaign, states often vie for influence by pushing their elections earlier in the season. In this manner of posturing, California and several other states moved their primaries to Feb. 5 this year, elevating the importance of "Super Tuesday" both for California voters and for candidates.
According to the Office of the Secretary of State, the American Independent Party and the Democratic Party will allow "decline to state" voters to request a party ballot for the Feb. 5 Presidential Primary Election. The Republican Party has decided to not permit unaffiliated voters to take part in their "Super Tuesday" selection this year. Party officials maintain the belief that members should determine the party's nominee while urging unaffiliated voters interested in supporting a Republican to join the Party.
In what will be the largest to date of this already critical day in the primary election season, "Super Tuesday" offers to candidates more delegates than can be won on any other day in the primary election. As citizens of California, CSUSM students registered to vote have the opportunity to dramatically influence the outcome of the primaries as residents of the largest delegate contributing state in the nation.
The staggering complexity of the Presidential primaries presents a stark contrast from the relatively simplicity in the General Presidential Election that follows. Varying rules and formats from state to state and party to party make the nomination process intensely unpredictable. Unlike in the General Election where candidates seek electoral votes, the primaries see candidates campaign for nominations from party delegates that represent each state. While most states use the primary election system, other states like Iowa choose to award delegates to a candidate based on the outcome of large meetings known as caucuses. In both cases, these delegates then go on to each party's national convention to determine who the nominee will be.
Since the 90's, California's primary election system has changed 3 times. Until 1996, California used a "closed" primary system, allowing only registered members of a party to vote on a party's ballot. With the passage of Proposition 198, Californians adopted an "open" primary system to allow voters to select a candidate regardless of political affiliation. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court determined the "open" primary system to be a violation of a political party's First Amendment right to free association, thus ushering in the current "modified closed" primary system under SB 28. If a party so chooses, they can notify the Secretary of State to permit unaffiliated "decline to state" voters to participate in their primary.
Since primaries are held at different dates and early performances set the tone for a campaign, states often vie for influence by pushing their elections earlier in the season. In this manner of posturing, California and several other states moved their primaries to Feb. 5 this year, elevating the importance of "Super Tuesday" both for California voters and for candidates.
According to the Office of the Secretary of State, the American Independent Party and the Democratic Party will allow "decline to state" voters to request a party ballot for the Feb. 5 Presidential Primary Election. The Republican Party has decided to not permit unaffiliated voters to take part in their "Super Tuesday" selection this year. Party officials maintain the belief that members should determine the party's nominee while urging unaffiliated voters interested in supporting a Republican to join the Party.
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