Take part in Tuesday caucuses to determine presidential primaries

Cache Valley caucuses will be held Tuesday night from 7 to 9 p.m. for the Republicans and from 6 to 8 p.m. for the Democrats. These caucuses will give students the chance to register either Republican or Democrat and then vote for the presidential primaries.

America Andrade, the precinct chair for Logan 12th Precinct, will be in charge of a number of students in her assigned precinct that come to caucus night. She said that she hopes more students will come and participate in the voting as opposed to caucuses in the past where only a handful of students have shown.

“Students are not as involved in politics as I would like them to be,” Andrade said. “I think the number one reason not a lot of students show up is because they just don’t know that Utah is voting when it is voting. They also don’t know what a precinct is.”

Peter Gilbert, the USU College Republicans president, said that learning how caucuses and lobbying works in college will set the foundation for students for the rest of their lives. Getting involved now will help them in the future when it comes to being involved in politics.

Finding the location and time for a caucus is simple with the website, vote.utah.gov. This allows people to find their specific precinct just by typing in their address. Andrade said she likes to educate people on when and where voting is as much as possible so she can clear up some confusion and get more people to vote.

“Another reason students and people tend to not vote is because they think their voice will not be heard and their vote doesn’t matter,” Andrade said. “But these voices will be heard because at the end of the day each vote counts and the next president will know exactly how many people voted for them. If the majority of people believe their vote won’t count then it is not going to, and there will be a huge clump of people that could have made a difference but chose not to because they thought they would not be heard.”

At a precinct you also have the opportunity to nominate and vote for county and state delegates. County delegates get to vote in all county elections and then state delegates get to go to the state convention and vote for governor, U.S. senator and U.S. congressmen. Students can become involved by voting for these delegates or even running for these delegate positions.

“I think students should become involved in politics and voting because it is everyone’s civic duty,” Andrade said. “There are a ton of other countries that do not allow women and even certain income families to vote. In the United States, the amount of freedom we have to go vote and have a say in who will run our country is amazing, and it is something that we fought for. Our Founding Fathers would be turning in their graves if they knew we were not taking advantage of this right that we have.”

It is also important for students to be involved in local and state voting as well. When there are problems such as parking and roads, more student representation in meetings and politics could help alleviate these issues so that the valley will be left in better shape for future USU generations.

“I would like to say that these presidential elections are so glamorized they become the focus, and I think that is wrong,” Gilbert said. “State and local races need to be our focus. These are our neighbors who are leading our community and you can talk to them personally. Every vote matters in these elections and they are vital for the direction of our state and community. It is my firm belief that what happens inside City Hall will affect you more than what happens in the White House.”

For more information on USU’s College Republicans group visit: https://www.facebook.com/usurepublicans/?fref=ts.

For more information on USU’s College Democrats group visit: https://www.facebook.com/USU-College-Democrats-356814217730218/?fref=ts.

— jillian.mccarthy@aggiemail.usu.edu