Super Tuesday has a new meaning this year in New York. Mayor Bloomberg, along with Giants management, felt that the only practical day to hold the parade to honor the Super Bowl champions is this coming Tuesday. Tuesday happens to be the most important day of this election season for Presidential hopefuls, and New York is a very important state to win. I’m curious to hear what everyone thinks about this decision by the Giants and Mayor Bloomberg. I understand the importance of the parade, but I think it takes away from the primaries. According to Yahoo News, a spokeswoman for the city Board of Elections said there are “three lower Manhattan polling places along the parade route.” This obviously isn’t an election-changing event, but I think it’s interesting to think about how this parade could affect voter turnout. Voter turnout has always been an issue and I think a parade such as this could send the wrong message about the importance of voting. Is a sporting event more important then the election of our Commander in Chief?
Information taken from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080204/ap_on_el_pr/super_tuesday_giants
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I was very surprised by the timing of the parade too. I would never think that the mayor of such a big and politically strategic city as New York would send the message to the public that a sport event (even as big as Super Bowl) is as important if not even more important than the primary responsibility of the citizens – voting. I certainly think that the parade has the potential to lower voter turnout for the primaries, especially among the younger people. This audience segment has never been active in casting their votes, and the parade would be one less reason to do so in these primaries. Obama is the one who might be hurt the most by the time conflict since young democratic voters overwhelmingly support him; therefore, if they attend the parade instead of voting, he is likely to loose delegates.
I agree with Anastasia in that I expect for voter turnout to be a little bit lower, given that NY (and NYC especially) is rabid about its sports...But I actually think voter turnout will be a little bit lower across the board. Football is America's favorite sport, and if you watched the halftime show and the commercials, you know it wasn't geared to a young crowd...Therefore, I don't think it's outlandish to expect lower voter turnout, especially in the NYC area, across the board tomorrow.
The question that we should be asking is why the primary wasn't moved in order to avoid interference with the parade. Don't forget, this is football we are talking about. Like it or not, we live in a country that takes it's sports more seriously than it does it's presidential candidates. Far more people can name who played the game than can name who is running for President. So, unless they are prepared to nominate a Manning as their candidate, no political party should be scheduling their primary near the Super Bowl. Sad, but true.
While sports often seem more important in our country than politics, I think Mayor Bloomberg and Giants Management could have found a different day for the parade. Putting the parade on Super Tuesday takes the focus in New York away from politics. While it is great for the city that their team won the Super Bowl, I think the celebration could have been placed on a different day. The voters who are maybe voters might not turn out to polls because they would rather celebrate at the parade. For most people, the parade is much more exciting and enticing event. Therefore, many voters will be lured away from the polls into the streets. In addition, the parade makes it harder to access the three polling places along the parade routes. People might forgo voting in order to avoid the mass chaos of the crowds for the parade.
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