Yesterday's "Potomac Primaries," which included Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., had some students scrambling to file absentee ballots and others preferring to wait for Pennsylvania's April 22 contests.
Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Republican candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., swept yesterday's primaries, adding speed to Obama's recent winning streak and bolstering McCain's strong lead on the Republican side, according to The Associated Press.
Obama's three-primary win yesterday marks eight straight wins for the Illinois Senator, leaving Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., lagging behind in Democratic delegates for the first time since the start of primary season.
McCain's wins yesterday against former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee further strengthened his lead in the race for the party's nomination, leaving the senator with more than three times the Republican delegates that Huckabee has.
Some students from the D.C.-metro area were able to use absentee ballots yesterday if they wanted to cast their vote in their hometown's primary elections.
Kash Woltz (freshman-kinesiology) said she registered to vote in her home state of Maryland over winter break but did not vote in yesterday's primary election because she "didn't get an absentee ballot in time."
"But I'm pretty sure [the Potomac Primaries] will have a pretty huge impact," Woltz said.
Although Andrew Metcalf (freshman-architectural engineering) calls Washington, D.C. home, he became a registered voter in State College at the beginning of last semester.
"Pennsylvania is a much more important state in terms of number of delegates, and it's much more uncertain of who will win," Metcalf said.
Metcalf also said he would recommend that out-of-state students register to vote locally because students are likely concerned with local issues, and registering in State College is "really easy."
"If you come from a state that's pretty reliable in terms of elections, then I recommend registering here," Metcalf said. "I think it's legitimate because you probably spend more time here than your home state anyway."
Maryland resident Meg Smariga, a part-time student at Allegheny College in Cumberland, Md., said she doesn't think yesterday's primaries will have much impact on which candidates receive their respective party's nomination.
"I know that Super Tuesday kind of defines who gets the nomination, so I don't think [the Potomac Primaries] will help, especially with the amount of people that don't vote in the primaries," Smariga said.
