Super Tuesday is coming up for the 2020 presidential election on March 3.
March 3, 2020, is pivotal in deciding which candidate gets the nomination from their prospective party. As debates wear on, only four states have voted—Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina—but Super Tuesday is the date where 14 states, along with a U.S. territory, American Samoa, vote together. According to an article by political journalist Susan Milligan, of U.S. News, “The states casting ballots on Super Tuesday together comprise 40% of the U.S. population.”
Super Tuesday states:
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Maine
Massachusetts
Minnesota
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Democrats Abroad
American Samoa
Are both Republicans and Democrats involved?
Both Democrats and Republicans are involved in all states besides Virginia, where the Republicans decided to automatically go with President Trump. Virginia isn’t the only state defaulting with the current President—Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Kansas, Nevada, and South Carolina have also forgone a serious Republican race.
Candidates for both sides (as of Feb. 27, 2020):
Republicans: President Donald Trump; former governor of Massachusetts, Bill Weld.
Democrats: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders; Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren; former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg; former mayor of New York City, Mike Bloomberg; former United States Vice President, Joe Biden; Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar; Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; businessman Tom Steyer.
Race to November 3, 2020:
After March 3, the states are staggered on which ones will cast their votes next. The race to the nominations end on June 7, 2020, with Puerto Rico’s Republican primary. The last states to vote are Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota, along with Washington D.C. on June 2, 2020. The Democratic National Convention, from July 13 to July 16, will take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where the final nominee will be picked. The Republican National Convention is being held in Charlotte, North Carolina from Aug. 24 to Aug. 27.
Voting and registration:
On March 3, head to the polls to cast a vote in this cycle’s election. To find your precinct, the address to your voting building, and voter registration status, go to https://www.sec.state.ma.us/voterregistrationsearch/myvoterregstatus.aspx. To register to vote in Massachusetts, you must be above 18, a resident of the Commonwealth, and a U.S. citizen. “The deadline to register to vote in any election or regular town meeting is twenty (20) days prior to the date of the election or meeting. The deadline to register to vote in a special town meeting is ten (10) days prior to the special town meeting.”
There are options to register online, in person, or through the mail. MASSPIRG at the University of Massachusetts Boston is another resource to use to get registered. They’re located on the third floor of the Campus Center in the club spaces. For those out of state, there is still an option to vote in your home state via absentee ballot. Or, if you’re a Massachusetts resident who will be out of state, go to https://www.boston.gov/departments/elections/how-vote-absentee-ballot to get more information on how you can vote with an absentee ballot.
Sources:
https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2020-02-24/which-states-vote-on-super-tuesday
https://www.270towin.com/2020-election-calendar/
https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleifv/howreg.htm