VOTE! Tues. Feb. 19 Primary

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 is Wisconsin Primary Election Day. For the first time, some UWW students may be voting at the new polling place on campus. Others will vote at the Armory. Where do you vote? See the City’s elections information. Polls are open from 7am to 8pm.

What the heck is a primary, and why is it important?

A primary is part of the process used by the parties (Democratic and Republican) to figure out who will be their single candidate for the national Presidential election later. The primary voting determines how many delegates each candidate gets. These delegates are pledged to vote for that candidate at the party conventions in August and September. Wisconsin has an open primary, meaning you don’t have to be a registered or declared democrat or republican to vote in a party’s primary, but you can only vote in the primary for one or the other.

For more information about the primary and candidates, see:

• Wisconsin Vote, a service of Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio. There are Wisconsin news headlines and blogs here. The “Primary 08” link leads to info on issues for Wisconsinites and what the candidates say.
• League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. They have their own 2008 Presidential Primary Voters’ Guide with information about the candidates.
• Project Vote Smart Information on the candidates and results of completed state primaries are available here.

Of course, the candidates have their own web sites too:

• Hillary Clinton (D)
• Mike Gravel (D)
• Barack Obama (D)
• Mike Huckabee (R)
• John McCain (R)
• Ron Paul (R)