By Gazebo Assistant Editor DEEP PATEL and Chief Media Columnist DYLAN QUINTAL
Today is Super Tuesday. A phrase used informally by pundits, “Super Tuesday” refers to a Tuesday early in the United States presidential primaries on which a myriad of states hold their primary elections.
Polls opened in the Georgia primary officially at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Georgia, with 117 Democratic delegates and 76 Republican delegates, is one of a dozen states holding primaries on Super Tuesday, many of which states are in the South. A total of 595 Republican and 859 Democratic delegates are at stake.
A number of Stratford seniors who recently turned 18 will vote for the first time today. One such senior, Robert Clark, told the Gazebo that he will definitely be going to the polls.
“I think from 18 on, it is our civic duty to vote in every election for the best candidates possible,” he said. “Even if you don’t like the candidates, it is our duty to pick the least bad one.”
For senior Shishir Bandi, his motivation behind voting is a belief in the power of youth.
“Letting 18 year olds vote is important because it adds a shade of perspective in the elections that older voters can’t account for on their own,” explained Bandi. ”It may seem small and insignificant, but it helps to allow more voices on different issues.”
Bandi named another key reason for his participation in the 2016 Georgia primary: “People often say they aren’t going to vote because their choices don’t matter in the grand scheme of things… I understand one vote has little effect on the general direction of public favor, but it’s important to remember to remember that an absence of votes is just as powerful as actual votes.”
His sentiments lie with Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, a fact which Bandi made clear with his inclusion of the now ubiquitous #FeelTheBern at the end of our interview, but at press time he reports that he decided to cast his inaugural ballot for Republican candidate John Kasich.
Tommy Cleveland, another newly registered voter, also expressed his intention to vote for the Ohio governor.
“I feel like, as an informed American, it is my duty to express my opinion through the form of my vote,” said Cleveland.
“The status quo is constantly changing with new generations entering the voting age,” he said. “The balance between young and old needs to be kept, as older voters tend to have wisdom but be ignorant towards new issues, while younger voters tend to be ignorant towards taxes and the various inner workings of government that they haven’t had to deal with.”
Dylan Ogle is yet another senior who has decided to cast his vote with Kasich in the Republican primary.
“If you don’t vote, you can’t complain about who gets elected,” Ogle said. “But speaking to youths, specifically, I think it’s valuable to see where our generation is ideologically. Young people voting is more powerful than a blog or an article because it is the collective will.”
Clearly, the class of 2016 is ready to make its mark on the world.
