The Rule of Five: 5 things to know before the presidential primaries

Jordan Meaker, Editor-in-Chief|January 25, 2016

Tom Arthur from Orange, CA, United States, license link: http://bit.ly/1jxQJMa. original image link: http://bit.ly/1RMG3a1. Some rights reserved.

Voting is a right granted to eighteen years olds by the 26th Amendment. While teenagers statistically have the lowest rates of voting, many still decide to exercise their right and become involved in national politics.

The first of the primary elections for president are fast approaching, and while the primary in Georgia is a little later in the calendar, there are several upcoming events that should be noted by students who are planning on voting for the first time.

  1. The presidential primary in Georgia is on March 1 and you have to be registered to vote by February 1.

This gives you one more week to register to vote if you are already eighteen years old.

 

  1. You can register to vote online.

If you are eighteen already, you can vote in the primaries if you register by next week (February 1). However, if you will not be eighteen before February 1, you can register to vote when you turn seventeen and a half and you can vote in the general elections. Go to http://sos.ga.gov/ to register online.

 

  1. Georgia has open primaries, meaning you don’t have to affiliate with a party at registration.

However, on Election Day, you must declare that you will vote for one party or another.

 

  1. You can sign up to vote through Mr. Douglas, AP Gov and Government teacher.

Every public school is required to offer voting registration to students, teachers, and faculty. At Lambert, Todd Douglas ([email protected]) covers this duty.

 

  1. There are other people running for president besides Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

The New York Times published an excellent organizer of all of the candidates from the Democrat and Republican parties. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the platforms and goals of each of the candidates, no matter their party, to be able to make an informed decision about your choice for presidential candidate.

 

Many teenagers forgo their right to vote, believing that their vote will make no difference in the outcome of the election. This is true. Georgia is not a swing state, so the odds of your single vote making a difference in the result of the national election are worse than being struck by lightning, twice. So, no, your singular vote will make no impact. However, if teenagers across the nation took up an interest in politics, informing themselves on the topics and issues plaguing our nation and the ideas of the candidates to fix these problems, there would be a revolutionary change in politics and elections in our nation. In the United States, teenagers have the right to share their voice in politics through elections, and this right should not be taken for granted.