Having a Say on Super Tuesday
No, Super Tuesday isn’t a sporting event or a shopping day. It’s a day that has to do with politics and voting, a specific day in February or early March that generally sees millions of Americans voting for the primary presidential elections that take place every four years.
Super Tuesday is the day when major political parties within the United States choose their favorites to run in upcoming presidential elections. Each major political party chooses from a list of candidates and selects the one, from their party or another, which they want to vote for. From the list that can contain dozens of candidates who want to be president of the United States, only a handful is selected. Once those votes are decided, those candidates will begin a long and arduous campaign to convince the American people that they will best fit the job as President of America.
The phrase was first coined in 1984. Certain largely populated states within the country serve as strategically important states in any political campaign, because of the number of residents, delegates and representatives available. Those states can change from year to year as populations and demographics shift, but for the most part, these important states consist of California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont. In the United States, the primaries held in New Hampshire also create vast attention from American voters, and in many cases, the voting in these states often serves as a precursor to how the rest of the country is going to vote as well.
Winning state elections held on Super Tuesday are a feather in any presidential candidates hat. Super Tuesday voting events are held in vastly different states in regard to population and socioeconomic levels, which serve to represent all cultures and income levels within the country. Such elections also serve to indicate a particularly favored or disfavored candidate. Certain demographic areas of the country tend to vote Republican, while others are primarily Democratic. Such is the glory and frustration of the American voting system, which allows each individual the right to vote. In every election, majority rules and while many people are left disappointed when their preferred candidate doesn’t win, it’s a testament to the American way of life that each citizen has a right to vote for whomever they choose to be their leader.
A presidential candidate’s win in particular states on Super Tuesday will often serve as a driving force for the remainder of their campaign, and the lessons learned of what works and what doesn’t are carefully observed by campaign managers from all political parties. The American voting system allows candidates to campaign in person, and over radio and television waves to reach every American in even the remotest corners of the country and around the world. World leaders keep their attention on the campaigns of various American presidential candidates as the process begins in an effort to get to know whom they may be dealing with in a short period of time. Presidential terms last four years, and a president may be re-elected once, to serve a total of eight years in office. Other world leaders are often forced to switch gears when new presidents are elected, and while this process may be frustrating to many other countries, the American system has been celebrated, observed and respected since our country’s beginnings. America’s Founding Fathers wanted to insure that democracy ruled and set limits to the powers of government that guarantees every American’s right to vote a candidate into or out of office; a right that is enjoyed by few other countries around the world.
Super Tuesday serves to offer every American the right to cast their vote on who they feel will best represent the United States of America, not only to fellow Americans, but to the world.