With the 2016 presidential election heating up, Super Tuesday voting today will provide candidates with a significant number of delegates potentially needed to clinch the nomination. Super Tuesday puts about half of the total Republican delegates and about a third of the total Democratic delegates in contention, making today the most important day for possible nominees.  For many students, today will be their first opportunity to cast a ballot in a political contest, kickstarting their electorate participation in government.

“A lot of my friends are voting and it’s my first time being able to vote,” senior Eric Yoon said. “So it’s kind of going to be a big deal for me as an 18-year-old.”

Historically, the results from Super Tuesday have had substantial impact on the results of the general election. Texas in particular decides 155 of the total 600 Super Tuesday Republican delegates, putting the state in the spotlight for the GOP candidates. To put that into perspective, there are more Republican delegates in the Dallas area than in the entire state of New Hampshire. Therefore, despite a more casual culture surrounding primaries, many stress the importance of investing in staying informed.

“If students are voting today, a challenge that I have for them is to find some objective means for casting a vote rather than something that could be a little more shallow,” AP Government teacher Matt Swinnea said. “Being an informed, rational voter is sometimes difficult in this age–to find out information about candidates. That would be the biggest challenge.”

Certain students, regardless of age, still cannot vote in the election because of citizenship status, such as the case of Canadian-born senior Reilly Martens who still sees importance in having opinions about political affairs.

“In some ways not being able to vote hinders my participation as a permanent resident in the country,” Martens said. “Because, you know, I live here and have views just like everyone else about the government and how I feel about it. So, obviously, I would want to be a part of that.”

Students unable to vote still have the capacity to stay informed of the development of new government policies.

“For those students who are not able to vote, I would say that they should still consider the impact of government on their lives,” Swinnea said. “They should, even now, begin the process of acquiring the habit of being as informed as possible so that, when they start to make decisions for themselves and the rest of us, they can be informed.”