Erick Mendez
Staff Writer
Political Primaries are contests that take place at more than one point of election year before November.
A Presidential Primary is an election that narrows down which candidate running for the oval office directly from a group of multiple people will make it to the general election representing their identified political party. Think of it as the presidential semi-finals before the finals. The end contest will be the Democratic Nominee up against the Republican incumbent otherwise known as sitting President, Donald Trump.
This contest will be held on March 17, 2020, which in turn will affect how people feel about Nov. 8, 2020.
Early voting takes place days before the given election. Mail-in ballots as well as absentee ballots are also possible to use.
One of the repeating mistakes people (in this case Democratic voters) make is refusing to get involved in early primary season believing any candidate carrying a blue party label can just magically defeat their red political opponent.
In 2016, Trump attacked Hillary Clinton for holding private and public political positions unveiling a slew of discrepancies in her policy standings. Many of these areas of concern dealt with trade, open border, and giving paid private speeches to banks. He won. What this shows is that it is wildly unrealistic for a politician to bring a knife to a gunfight and expect to overcome.
In the latter half of 2020, and after the time of this writing, if for example Pete Buttigieg, or Joe Biden were to carry the democratic nomination, and a scandal surfaced right before November, the Republican incumbent could exploit such findings to tactically curry influence over Americans. By that time, the election would likely be decided because many of our politicians have allowed United States politics to become so ugly. They welcome personal attacks.
Whoever survives the Democratic Presidential Primary will be by extension the one to decide the outcome to the General Election. Primaries are the most important contests and the deciding factor of the world’s future. It’s not just about defeating an opponent. It’s about addressing the issues in politics with a qualifying message.
If there was any advice, I could give to people concerned about their vote not being taken seriously, this would be the vote that gets taken seriously.
Primaries in Florida are closed contests, which means No Party Affiliation and third-party candidates are actually barred from participation. You must be registered asThe best recourse to this barrier will be to change your voter registration to Democrat, at least 29 days ahead of March 17th, 2020. After that, registration will be closed.
Elections are not over until the last ballot is counted. Even if the polls or the press announce a winner that evening, it is the right decision to stay long enough to see your vote get counted. Every vote matters.
There are multiple ways to register in time to cast your vote. One example is to ask individuals with ballot petitions around Broward College. Other starting points include bringing an ID card to personnel at a local library, or a department of motor vehicles.
mende12@mail.broward.edu
