With the upcoming state Democratic primary election next month, local and state party officials are urging voters to participate. The primary is scheduled for March 9.
Students who are from another county or those who are not going to be in their voting area the day of the primary can vote with absentee ballots, said Oktibbeha County Circuit Clerk Delois Lyons.
“If you’re registered to vote in Oktibbeha County, and you’re not going to be here March 9, then you can come into the office and vote,” Lyons said.
Voters registered in other counties across the state should contact their county officials to request an absentee ballot, Lyons added.
Only registered voters are allowed to participate in the primary next month, and the deadline to register to vote in the primary was Monday. However, Lyons said those who are interested in taking part in later votes, such as the 2004 presidential election, to register now.
Rickey Cole, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said the primary is a good indicator of the strength of the party within the state, and that it is important to participate in the selection process.
“If you don’t vote, then don’t complain,” Cole said. “The door is wide open and anyone can participate [in the primary.]”
Seth Oppenheimer, faculty adviser to the College Democrats, said he believed people should vote in the primaries regardless of the party, and that the republic would fall apart if people failed to show interest in the voting process.
He recalled a proverb that said, “The republic is like an egg; hard to break from the outside, but easy to break from the inside.”
Oppenheimer said that apathy toward the election system was a way to “break” from the inside.
A copy of the ballot to be used in next month’s primary has some names of candidates that have already dropped out of the running. Among these names is Gen. Wesley Clark, the latest casualty on the campaign trail.