By Awais Qazi

This week is a huge week for our nation. March 1 is Super Tuesday: one of the biggest days in voting during the early election season. Super Tuesday is a day where 12 States and one US Territory invite their citizens to come out and vote.

This year, on Super Tuesday, 595 Republican delegates will be up for grabs as well as 1,004 Democratic delegates. In order for a candidate of the Republican Party to receive a nomination, he or she needs the support of 1,237 delegates. For the Democratic Party, to win the nomination, the candidate needs the support of 2,383 delegates.

Based on these numbers, Super Tuesday is a huge force in the nomination process, which is why it is more important now than ever before in this campaign season to become educated about the beliefs of the candidates and to understand how each candidate’s ideas and beliefs align with our own. Luckily for us, in this day in age, it is easy to obtain information about almost every issue that we can think of. The Internet has made it easy to share information with others.

However, there are some aspects to take note of while doing research to find the perfect candidate. The first thing to note is that all articles on the Internet are biased in one way or another. It is nearly impossible to write from a completely unbiased point of view. To alleviate this concern, make certain to keep an open mind when researching the candidates. Visit multiple outlets of information and look at the strengths and weaknesses of all of the candidates by looking at articles that support and oppose the candidate in question. Another way to ensure that you are getting accurate information is to locate overlaps in articles of different perspectives.

Any overlaps you find in articles that are heavily biased against and towards the same candidate tend to be the most accurate and truthful information. Once you begin to narrow down the candidates that you are most likely to support, make sure you analyze all aspects of the candidate. Look at articles that are heavily biased towards that candidate and try to point out and identify the features that led the writer to write such a biased piece, and do a lot of fact checking to ensure that the information you are consuming is accurate. Following that, read articles that are heavily biased against a candidate.

Identify the issues that caused the writer to write such a biased piece and fact-check those. Make sure they are not heavily exaggerated. Additionally, use your knowledge and best judgment to think about the rationale of the candidate in question. Is the criticism is rational? Why does the candidate act the way he or she does? What caused this writer to become so biased against that candidate? In the process for selecting the perfect candidate, it is important to ask as many questions as possible and to research and find the answers to your questions before coming to a conclusion. Another thing is to garner information from a variety of outlets. Do not simply rely on the biggest named news outlets and providers of information. Look at smaller outlets, blogs, articles, videos, previous speeches, voting records, etc. Technology makes all of this information accessible. This information is a useful tool in helping citizens all over the world make an informed decision on whom they would like to represent their country.

The elections are extremely important; they determine our future, the future of our country, and the direction that we move in as a nation. It is extremely important to utilize technology to precipitate appropriated change. We need to educate ourselves, spread our knowledge, and work towards a better community for the future. The means by which we can make such an impact is by going out and voting for the change that we would like to see in our communities. Make sure you are staying up to date with the current events of the world and make sure to go out and vote. Help shape the future of our country. Make the difference. Let’s stand up for ourselves and march forward together.