Even though we spend most of our time talking about general elections, primary elections are important. This March, Florida voters will get to help choose a candidate to represent the parties in the 2020 general election this November. Since Donald Trump, the Republican president, doesn’t have any serious challengers, I’m going to focus on the Democratic presidential primary and how you can be a prepared and informed voter on March 17.
Check (and double-check) your registration
Even if you know you’re registered to vote at your preferred address, voter rolls are sometimes “purged” without warning, which means that voters who have been “inactive” or haven’t voted recently can be tossed off the list of registered voters. Make sure you check your registration a few times between now and March 17, and double-check that you’re registered with the party of your choice. It’s currently too late to register with a party ahead of the presidential primary, but you could register ahead of time for down-ballot races, like congressional and mayoral primaries, that occur later this year.
Do your homework
A great way to help decide on a candidate to support is to choose an issue that is most important to you, whether it be climate change, reproductive rights, gun violence, healthcare, student loan debt, or foreign policy. Then, find an organization that assigns candidate “ratings” on that specific issue: a good example is Planned Parenthood’s Presidential Candidate Profiles, which detail each candidate’s particular stances on reproductive health issues. Try searching “issue + presidential candidate scorecard” and see what comes up. Another awesome tool is Ballotpedia, which will allow you to check each candidate’s legislative history in Congress (given that they are/were a member of Congress) and see how they voted on issues that matter to you.
Work in your community
If there’s a candidate you already support, go out and get involved on their campaign to help them do as well as possible on Primary Election Day. Some great ways to join a campaign are canvassing, which involves knocking on doors in certain neighborhoods to talk to voters and convince them to come out and vote for your candidate, tabling on campus, phone banking (calling voters to discuss your candidate), and placing signs around Gainesville. All of these activities are proven ways to increase voter participation and help a candidate’s odds in an election. Grassroots support is everything in 2020, and the primary is no exception. This article from The Alligator can help you get started.
Watch presidential primary debates (and invite friends)
There is a presidential primary debate at least once every month and they often get pretty spicy. They cover issues from healthcare, foreign policy, climate change and practically every policy issue you could think of. Add some snacks, and a debate watch party is a great way to spend time with friends and spread the “informed voter” cheer, all while watching some pretty funny moments onstage at the debate. You could add a drinking game to the mix and get learnt and turnt at the same time!