Seniors could play big role in Mississippi primary next week

The Mississippi presidential primary will give state voters an opportunity to have a hand in who will be on the ballot in November.

Although it comes a week after Super Tuesday, candidates such as Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich have been campaigning in the Magnolia State.

The primary will give the state's voters a chance to be a part of the candidate selection process, and senior citizens are a big part of the state's voting bloc.

According to AARP, 92 percent of the 83.1 million registered voters age 45 and older voted in the 2008 election.

"Tuesday's election is just like any other election," Harrison County Circuit Clerk Connie Ladner said. "The polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., and you will need to bring your ID to vote."

She said she believes senior voters play a big role in elections.

"The senior voters are a very important part of our voter base," Ladner said. "There are many groups that vote, but we have a lot of seniors that vote, especially by casting absentee ballots."

Voters may be surprised, however, when they see the number of names on the ballots, especially for Democratic and Republican choices.

The Republican ballot has more than 20 candidates from which to choose, many more than the familiar names of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Kasich.

The ballot also will have choices outside the Republicans and Democrats with Third Party, Libertarian, Green Party and Constituency candidates.

Ladner said the primary could also play a key role in the state becoming a part of the nation's Super Tuesday primary.

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hoseman is pushing for the state to move up the primary to the first Tuesday in March to form an "SEC Primary," which would join Mississippi with other Southern states as part of Super Tuesday.

The name is a play on the Southeastern Conference.

"We want to encourage people to come out and vote," she said. "This is a very important primary for our state. It could also get us closer to being part of Super Tuesday."

This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Seniors could play big role in Mississippi primary next week ."