For information on where to vote today, click here

As of now, I am live.  On this "Super Duper Tuesday", I'm going to be using state of the art technology to broadcast live video clips and write blog posts throughout the day, bringing the action to you as it happens.  You'll be able to see the national action as it happens on the Choose or Lose and MTV News webpages, and you should be able to see my videos on my Think profile.

This morning's Boston Globe all but narrows down the race to three candidates: Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama.  In "Today's votes may bring dominance, deadlock" writer Peter S. Canellos paints a picture of John McCain locking up the Republican nomination today and a much closer race between Clinton and Obama for the Democrat nomination. 

What I think is most interesting about Canellos's article is not the prediction, but the reasoning behind it.  The sources Canellos cites suggest that these very different narratives, one of dominance and one of deadlock, have nothing to do with the candidates, but with the way Republicans and Democrats count their votes:

"I think the process for choosing delegates is probably going to shape the outcome of this election," said Lawrence R. Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. "The different outcomes we're going to face tomorrow are the result of these very different processes."

 

Peter S. Canellos - Boston Globe

Republicans have a winner take all system, in which whomever takes a State's popular ballot takes all of a State's delegates.  Democrats have a much more complicated system of allocating delegates proportionally, meaning that even if you win the state you don't necessarily get all of the delegates, or even most of them.   This begs the question: how are your votes being counted?

The New York Times Election Guide 2008 has a very comprehensive breakdown of the nominating process for each state.  The Massachusetts section describes the "details of the nominating process" for Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats: 93 Pledged Delegates, 28 Unpledged Delegates, Primary (Closed)

 

Based on the results of the primary Feb. 5, 93 delegates are allocated proportionally to presidential candidates; 61 of those 93 are allocated based on the vote in each of the state’s 10 Congressional districts. In addition, 32 delegates are allocated to candidates based on the primary vote statewide. The remaining 26 unpledged delegates are comprised of party leaders and elected officials.

 

Republicans: 40 Pledged Delegates, 3 Unpledged Delegates, Primary (Semi-Closed)

 

Based on the results of the Feb. 5 primary, 30 delegates to the national convention are allocated proportionally to presidential candidates receiving at least 15 percent of the vote. At congressional-district caucuses April 5, these 30 delegates are elected. The state party committee’s executive committee meets May 13 to elect 10 pledged delegates at large who are allocated to the candidates based on the primary statewide vote. In addition, three party leaders become unpledged delegates.

 

- New York Times Election Guide 2008

Confused? Don't worry.  So am I, and I'm supposed to be covering the election!  The nominating process is something I hope to untangle for readers and with readers, as the weeks and months go by.   There is one thing I want to get across today, though.

Yesterday, as friends tried to convince me to vote for their respective candidates they used the argument, "you're vote actually counts today."  It is exciting that in Massachusetts, with the races being so close between either Obama or Clinton and Romney or McCain, every vote could be the deciding vote for who wins in this State.  It really is a dream for those of us that want youth to take greater stake in the political process.

But it's important to ask ourselves why our votes count this time, and why they can't count everytime.  Don't get me wrong.  Youth should always vote.  If you don't vote you don't exist to the politicians to represent you.  Yet, it would be a lie to say that each of our votes count equally.  For every Massachusetts, there is a Florida or a Michigan, where youth votes aren't being recognized.  That's what I try to do here on this blog, I shout for the silenced.

The truth is that when it comes to the Republican and Democrat nominating process, you're vote is not gauranteed by the U.S. constitution.  On the contrary, in the 1981 case the Democratic Party of the United States v. Wisconsin, the Supreme Court, which has the final say when it comes to interpreting the U.S. Constitution, determined that the Democrat National Committee can count votes, basically, however it pleases.

Fortunately the two major parties have chosen to open up the nominating process to the public in the most recent decades.  Still it's important to remember that have our votes count in the nominating process is a rare privilege, not a guaranteed right. 

It's also important to remember that you don't have to vote for a Democrat or a Republican.  Massachusetts has two more recognized parties: The Green-Rainbow Party and the Working Families Party, and the Green Party is holding a primary of it's own.

Today, the votes of Massachusetts citizens count, but it's always important to understand why.  I wish everyone the best of luck as they head out to the voting booths today.  See the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth's website for information on where to vote.  This post will go live at 7 a.m. just as the polls open.