By KAYLA DEMICCO
Opinions Editor
We have finally reached 2020 and it is definitely time for the country to elect a new president. We have officially entered the primary season and it is up to voters to see who’s going to be in the final general election in November.
So far, we have seen results from Iowa and New Hampshire in which Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg have come up as top two for the Democratic candidates. Obviously being the most known Republican candidate, Donald Trump topped the votes for the Republican count.
As Iowa was the first to hold their Presidential primary elections on Feb. 3, they ran into many problems. Seeing as this was the first Presidential primary election, it was a big deal. Even though the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) reported voter turnout to be high, there were no results being released to the public. Suspicion and doubt arose with the delay and a statement from the Iowa Democratic Party did not necessarily help.
Mandy McClure, spokeswoman for the IDP said, “We have experienced a delay in the results due to quality checks. What we know right now is that around 25 percent of precincts have reported, and early data indicates turnout is on pace for 2016.”
Even though it was reported that it was not a result of a “hack or an intrusion,” there were still numerous inconsistencies. Iowa voters used an app called “IowaReporter,” which according to Vice, “ultimately won’t affect the vote totals of the Iowa caucuses, which are being recounted with paper ballots and other hard documentation.”
CNN reported that “[t]he app was built to collect and report the caucus results, but some precinct officials said they had issues reporting the results of their caucuses through the app.”
At a point when results were not finalized yet, Pete Buttigieg, who won 26.2% of the Democratic votes in the end, was already celebrating the victory.
“Thank you, Iowa. The work we’ve done, the movement we’ve built, will begin to turn the page and change the trajectory of our country. I believe you will make me the next President of the United States, and I will do everything I can to make you proud,” Buttigeig tweeted.
New Hampshire held their primaries on Feb. 11. New Hampshire did not have as much as a bumpy election process as Iowa. Bernie Sanders won 25.7% of the Democratic votes and Buttigieg in second. To a surprise to many, Amy Klobuchar came in third.
It is still the beginning of the year and it is going to be a long one ahead of us.
The next states to hold their Presidential primary elections this month are Nevada on Feb. 22 and South Carolina on Feb. 29. Vermont, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Minnesota, Massachuesetts, Maine, Colorado, California, Arkansas, Alabama, and Virgina will be holding their primaries on Mar. 3. With these dates coming up very soon, it is important to make sure you know that your vote counts, no matter where you are.
If someone is unable to vote in their primaries (or even the presidential election when the time comes), there is the magic of absentee ballots to make sure they voted. Every state has different dates for when the ballot has to be mailed by so getting information about the specifics is good to look for on one’s own time. A website to make it easy is https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot/ .
The most important part of getting an absentee ballot, is being registered to vote. While it may sound like a hassle of a task that one can only accomplish from the comfort of their own phone.
Saint Rose students have the privilege of our very own Student Association holding voter registrations all these week around campus. Monday Feb. 17 and Wednesday Feb. 19, voter registration will be from 12 – 3 p.m. in the main lounge in the Events and Athletic Center (EAC). On Tuesday Feb. 18, voter registration will be from 5 – 7 p.m. in Brubacher Hall and Lima Hall. To close off the week on Thursday Feb. 20, voter registration will be from 12 – 3 p.m. in the main lounge and 5 – 7 p.m. in Brubacher and Lima Halls.
Every county should have their own Board of Elections (or at least this is true for New York State) and employees there would be able to walk you through the process of getting an absentee ballot, registering to vote, updating your address on for being a voter, tell you where your polling location is and much more.
I believe that more people should be taking the 2020 Presidential election seriously so we don’t have four more years of one of America’s worst mistakes.
