This upcoming Tuesday — March 3 — is an important day. It’s called Super Tuesday, and it’s the day when a significant number of states hold their primary elections. It’s the first big primary election day following the four early nominating states we’ve all been hearing so much about (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina).

Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia are all holding their primary elections on Super Tuesday this year. That’s 14 state primaries, not including the American Samoa caucuses. If you’re registered to vote in New York, Super Tuesday might not seem all that super to you; after all, New York state primaries don’t start until late April.

But no matter where you’re voting, Super Tuesday is important. The March 3 results will tell us a lot about who the real contenders for the party nominations are. If you’re voting on Super Tuesday, great! If you’re not, read the news, keep in mind your primary voter registration deadlines and make sure to check when your state votes. For those of you registered/wanting to register in New York, make sure to register by April 3 to be able to vote in the primaries. If you’re already registered and want to change your address, make sure to do so by April 8.

Elections can be a confusing time, so I also urge you to take full advantage of the resources you have available to you. If you haven’t already registered, HamVotes — Hamilton’s non-partisan voter registration and education group — can help by providing you with the registration form and delivering it to the Board of Elections for you. HamVotes has also partnered with TurboVote (hamilton.turbovote.org) to make voting more convenient. If you want more information about a candidate, you can also go to ballotready.org. HamVotes will also be tabling at the upcoming Common Ground event on March 12, so you can stop by and register there. Depending on what party you identify with, other on-campus political organizations like the Hamilton College Democrats or Hamilton College Republicans can also be a great resource to help you register to vote and answer any questions you may have.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re actively voting this upcoming Tuesday. What matters is that you’re participating. If you can vote, please do. And please keep Super Tuesday in mind. Regardless of your political affiliation or voter status, March 3 has significant implications for us all.

Sincerely,

Amanda Kim ’21