“You Can Make a Huge Difference,” Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz tells Trinity Students

Hartford, Conn.— Barack Obama and John McCain were the overwhelming favorites of Trinity students, faculty and staff who participated in a mock presidential primary on Thursday, January 24 on the College campus. The primary was held in advance of Connecticut’s February 5 presidential primary.

In addition to the vote, Hartford elections officials registered 50 new voters. Connecticut has a “closed” primary system, which means that only registered Democrats will be able to vote in the state’s Democratic primary and only registered Republicans will be able to vote in the GOP primary.

When the voting ended at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Obama had 64 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary, followed by Hillary Rodham Clinton with 26 percent; John Edwards with 6 percent; Dennis Kucinich with 3 percent; and Joe Biden with 1 percent. Biden and Kucinich have dropped out of the race.

The order of finish in the Republican primary was: John McCain, 48 percent; Mitt Romney, 32 percent; and Rudolph Giuliani, Fred Thompson and Ron Paul, all with approximately 2 percent. Thompson also has withdrawn his candidacy.

Reid Vineis, class of 2010, said it’s clear that every vote matters and that the Trinity primary was a great experience for people who are just beginning to get involved in the political process. Vineis is the head of College Republicans. Kate Koppelman, his Democratic counterpart and a member of the class of 2008, said she thinks Trinity students are just beginning to get engaged in the election. “By Feb. 5, there will be a lot more interest,” she said.

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz was on hand to encourage the students to register and to vote, telling them that “you can make a huge difference.” In particular, Bysiewicz noted that Joe Courtney was elected to Congress in Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District by only 83 votes in 2006. “College Democrats made the difference,” said Bysiewicz, noting that there was a 700 percent increase in voter participation on the University of Connecticut campus.

Bysiewicz also pointed out that this year’s presidential election marks the first time in 80 years that an incumbent president or vice president won’t be running for the office of president, making both races wide open and even more exciting than usual.

Also on hand at Thursday’s event were State Democratic Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo and State Republican Chairman Christopher Healy.

Connecticut is one of 24 states that will hold either a presidential primary or caucus on February 5. Trinity students who are registered to vote in Hartford and are affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties should vote at 43 Vernon Street in the Learning Corridor.