Here’s the deal. Statistically speaking, a lot of people don’t vote in the presidential primaries compared to the general election in November. The Pew Research center reported that an average of 56% of the eligible voting population in America votes in the general presidential election, while a meager 22% votes in the primaries. A variety of factors contribute to this gap; ask your local poli-sci majors to explain them to you in their free time.
While it may seem counterintuitive, the primaries are just as important as the general presidential election. So even though turnout is lower, those are the election dates you don’t want to miss. Here’s how it works:
The presidential election process encompasses campaigning on the party level, voting during the primary season, the national party convention designating a candidate, the national-level campaign and finally the general election.
Primary season includes both primaries and caucuses. The difference? Very broadly, primaries are votes tallied by secret ballot, while caucuses are local gatherings of party members who vote at the end of a meeting filled with discussion.
The first elections were the Iowa caucus on Feb. 3 and the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 11, which usually set the standard for the rest of the polling season. Although the final primary isn’t over until early June, “Super Tuesday” is the day when the most state primaries occur; this year it falls on March 3, when 14 states will be holding their elections. A third of all party delegates are allocated on this day.
In order for a candidate to win the national nomination, they have to win delegates through the primaries; each state has a designated number of delegates to award. The Democratic party awards delegates based on proportions; for example, if a state has ten delegates and 60% of votes support candidate A while 40% support candidate B, six delegates will go to A and B will get four. The Republican party allows each state to decide whether they will award delegates based on proportion or a winner-takes-all system.
Primaries tend to narrow the field; by the end of primary season, a party has a good idea of a frontrunner and an alternative. The wider the field at the beginning of primaries, the narrower it will get with each election. The poorer a candidate performs at a primary, the more likely they are to drop out, effectively narrowing a party’s choices.
Primaries are akin to the midterm elections in that although it may not seem like the most important election at first, they’re really the ones that impact future policy implementation. The primaries help decide how far left or right the party is going to run in any given year, meaning that if you want a more moderate candidate, you’re going to get off your butt and make the national party realize it with your vote.
By the time you get to the general election, you really only have a say over which party you’ll side with, which leaves many voters feeling like they have to decide between the lesser of two evils. Primaries are your chance to vote on a more personal basis and align yourself with specific ideals and programs.
So while it may be exhausting at this point and feel like everyone is playing musical chairs until November, there is good reason to pay attention to primary season action and, most importantly, vote.