In addition to starting a new decade, 2020 marks a new presidential election. On November 3, 2020, the United States will hold an election for many local offices, for many congressional offices, and for the office of the president. Before this, however, each party holds primary elections to determine their nominees for the coming election, and primaries have been occurring in several states over the past few weeks. Mississippi’s primary occurred on March 10, 2020, and many Union residents voted in their chosen party’s primary election. The primary elections are extremely important, and voting is a right all Union residents should exercise.
Unlike the general election where the electoral college actually elects the president, the primary elections are determined by popular vote, and several types of primaries exist—closed primary, open primary, and blanket primary. A closed primary is where only voters registered with a party can vote in that party’s primary. For example, a voter would have to preregister as a Republican before voting in a Republican primary. An open primary is where each voter can pick a party’s primary on election day, and a blanket primary allows each voter to participate in all primaries (this is actually ruled unconstitutional). Mississippi uses an open primary system, which allows voters to vote for a candidate rather than a party. The Democratic Party also uses a proportional system to award delegates whereas the Republican Party allows the states to decide between the winner-take-all method and the proportional method. After the primary elections, each party hosts a national convention to officially select their nominee.
For the 2020 primary elections, the main competition resides within the Democratic primary. Although there are four Republicans running in the Republican primary election, President Donald Trump has already won 833 out of the 1276 delegates required to win the Republican nomination. Bill Weld, the only other Republican in the running, has only secured one delegate. Because of his incumbency and sweeping victories in the primaries, President Donald Trump will likely win the Republican primary in a landslide. The Democratic Primary, on the other hand, began the primary season with around twenty contenders. After Super Tuesday, only two major contenders remained for the Democratic nomination. As of this writing, former Vice President Joe Biden holds a narrow lead over Senator Bernie Sanders. The primary elections help determine the contenders for the general election, and Mississippi plays a part in selecting these nominees.
Although the primary election has already ended, the primary election system still remains extremely important. The popular vote elects the two contenders for the presidential election, and Union residents should always vote in both the primary and the general election. Some countries do not have the right to vote. Some countries do not have this right. Some countries’ citizens have died for the right to vote. The right to vote is a fundamental right to the United States, and everyone should always use that right for as long as they live.
