LAWLzoR

For those paying attention to American politics, one will note that today (Tuesday, March 1st, 2016) is Super Tuesday. But what is Super Tuesday and why is it so important?

Super Tuesday is a voting day in which 11 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia) have their primary elections. It's important because it means a lot of delegates are up for grabs for the candidates (in a primary, the candidates get delegates from their respective party rather than a direct vote from the citizens). Super Tuesday is the biggest single day of the primary election, even though there are still roughly 4 more months in the primary election.

There are a total of 595 delegates up for grabs for the Republican candidates, and a total of 859 delegates up for grabs for the Democratic candidates. These are huge amounts of delegates, and considering that a Republican candidates needs 1,237 delegates and Democrats need 2,383 delegates in order to become the official party nominee for the general election for the presidency, today is not for fooling around. As John Oliver noted in his most recent episode (about Donald Trump, linked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnpO_RTSNmQ) that the candidate who won the most Super Tuesday delegates usually became the party's official nominee.

But it's not over for everyone else yet. While I personally think it's unlikely, Rubio or Cruz could pull the rug out from under Trump's feet and take the most delegates, thus becoming very competitive with Trump. Sanders could do the same with Clinton.

So get your presidential slippers on and enjoy Super Tuesday folks. And if you're an American and are registered and there's an open or blanket primary in your state: VOTE.