What is Super Tuesday and why is it important? By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.27.20 Word Count 936 Level 850L

Image 1. Presidential primary election ballots for the Democrat and Republican parties for Massachusetts on Super Tuesday in 2016. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Whoisjohngalt. CC BY-SA 3.0

General elections happen every four years. They are held so voters can pick the next president of the United States. The choice is primarily between one Democrat and one Republican. Voters go to the polls on November 3.

Before that happens, though, Democrats run against Democrats and Republicans run against Republicans. They all hope to become their party's candidate in the general election. This first stage is called the primaries. Voting is spread out over a period of months. After all the states have held primaries, the Democratic and Republican parties both hold their own National Convention. At these conventions, they nominate, or select, a presidential candidate to run in the general election.

The person who wins a party's presidential nomination doesn't necessarily need to receive the most votes. What counts is the number of delegates they end up with. Delegates are people who get to vote at their party's National Convention. Each state is given a certain number of delegates.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. The state parties then award delegates to the candidates based on the votes they receive. The first candidate to get a majority of the nearly 4,000 delegates wins the nomination.

Super Tuesday

The biggest day of the primaries is Super Tuesday. That's the day when the most states hold nominating contests, and the most voters have a chance to go to the polls. It is also the day on which the most delegates are awarded to candidates. More than a third of all delegates for the Democratic National Convention are up for grabs on this one day.

Both Democrats and Republicans can vote in Super Tuesday states. However, this year President Trump isn't facing a serious challenger. For that reason, we're focusing here on the Democrats.

So far, the Democratic presidential primary has no clear front-runner. Super Tuesday could change that.

Here's what you need to know.

Q: When is Super Tuesday?

A: It's March 3. It will be the first big primary day after the four early nominating states hold their votes. Those four states are Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

Super Tuesday is not the last day of voting in the primaries. The primaries continue all the way until June.

Q: Which states are voting on Super Tuesday and how many delegates are at stake?

A: Fourteen states and one U.S. territory will hold nominating contests on Super Tuesday. Together, they will award a total of 1,357 delegates.

The 14 states are spread across the country. They are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia.

This year, Super Tuesday is more important than ever. California is taking part for the first time. It has the biggest population of any state. Thirty percent of the delegates awarded on Super Tuesday will come from California.

No one can win the nomination based on Super Tuesday alone. However, doing well that day can get you a long way toward winning. Thirty-four percent of all delegates are offered on Super Tuesday.

Q: Why is Super Tuesday important, especially this year?

A: The race for the Democratic nomination is still wide open. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg finished in the top two in both Iowa and New Hampshire. Sanders is leading in recent national polling. When asked who they plan to vote for, more people picked him than any other candidate. But Super Tuesday could change everything. Another candidate could pull ahead.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Super Tuesday may change the race in other ways too. Right now, there are still eight Democratic candidates. Super Tuesday could narrow the field. Candidates who do poorly may be forced to drop out.

Also, Super Tuesday will bring out a broad range of voters. Iowa and New Hampshire were the first two states to hold nominating contests. Both have largely white populations. Super Tuesday will give large numbers of minority voters the first chance to have their voice heard.

There's another reason Super Tuesday could be especially important this year: Former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg will be appearing on presidential ballots for the first time that day. He entered the race late and skipped the early states. Bloomberg has spent $350 million of his own money on campaign ads. He has been taking support away from former vice president Joe Biden, who was once considered the front-runner.

What to watch for ahead of Super Tuesday:

1. How does Bloomberg do on the ballot?

So far, Bloomberg has been rising in state and national polls. But that rise is causing an increased focus on his past record. Critics have pointed to his support for allegedly racist stop-and-frisk policing when he was mayor. Bloomberg has also been heavily criticized for his treatment of women at the company he runs.

2. Do Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren survive beyond Super Tuesday?

These two once-leading candidates had disappointing showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. Both hope to do much better on Super Tuesday. But what happens if they don't? Will the race be all over for them?

3. Does Super Tuesday blunt Sanders' momentum in any way?

Since the Iowa caucuses, Sanders has been leading in national polls. However, he is not doing as well in some key Super Tuesday states. Sanders still has to convince Democratic Party leaders that he can beat Trump. If he finishes below third place in more than a few Super Tuesday states, Sanders may be in trouble. He will have a much harder time convincing the party that he can win a national election.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz

1 Read the following statements.

1. The person who wins a party's presidential nomination doesn't necessarily need to receive the most votes. 2. More than a third of all delegates for the Democratic National Convention are up for grabs on this one day. 3. No one can win the nomination based on Super Tuesday alone. 4. The race for the Democratic nomination is still wide open.

Which two statements are MAIN ideas of the article?

(A) 1 and 3

(B) 2 and 4

(C) 2 and 3

(D) 1 and 4

2 Select the answer that BEST summarizes the article.

(A) Super Tuesday will fall on March 3 this year, after the four early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Fourteen states will hold nominating contests on Super Tuesday. Even though Super Tuesday is one of the most important days in the presidential primary contest, it is far from the final day of voting. States around the country will continue to hold primary votes all the way until June.

(B) Super Tuesday is always a major event on the presidential primary calendar, but this year's Super Tuesday contests promise to be even more important than usual. March 3 will hopefully provide answers to some major questions facing Democratic voters and candidates, including whether Bloomberg performs well, whether Biden and Warren will be able to stay in the race, and whether anyone can gain enough support to slow the momentum of the current frontrunner, Sanders.

(C) Super Tuesday is the most important single day of presidential primaries. Although no candidate can win the party's nomination on Super Tuesday alone, the candidates will compete for more than one third of all available delegates, and the outcome can secure or end a presidential campaign. Super Tuesday this year will be even more important than usual because California will participate for the first time, and the Democratic nomination is still open to many candidates.

(D) Super Tuesday will be the biggest day of the primary process for the Democratic presidential candidates. Every four years candidates participate in presidential primaries, which help each party decide who their nominee for president will be during the general election. Although the Republican Party is also holding primary contests this year, they are less important because President Trump does not have any major primary challengers.

3 The article is mainly organized as question and answer. Why do you think the author chose to organize the information this way?

(A) to show that the presidential primary process is not as complicated as it seems

(B) to explain the biggest problems Americans have with the presidential primary system

(C) to ensure the article is easy to read by making it sound like a conversation between two people

(D) to give clear responses to some of the most likely questions people have about an important event

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4 Read the article's introduction [paragraphs 1-3] and the final section, "3. Does Super Tuesday blunt Sanders' momentum in any way?"

What is one connection between these two sections?

(A) The introduction explains presidential primaries, and the final section explains how Super Tuesday could affect the current leader in the Democratic primaries.

(B) The introduction describes the history of the presidential primaries, and the final section illustrates how one candidate wants to change the primary process.

(C) Both the introduction and the final section explain why Sanders has done so well in the Democratic primaries so far.

(D) Both the introduction and the final section compare the differences between the primary process and the general presidential election.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.