Voters weigh in on what’s motivating them for the Mississippi primary elections

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Campaign ads, endorsements and candidate visits have all picked up in the last week and Tuesday is the day to see what kind of impact it will have in Mississippi.

If you ask folks what’s driving them to the polls for primary election day, you’ll get a mixed bag of answers. For Democrats, they want change.

“We already know who we’re going to vote for and everything," said Barbara Williams. "I think people are ready for a change. We’ve been kind of going through since the last election. We just want to get out and try to make a difference. It’s an overall feeling. I want to see some change and some different people.”

Some Republicans want to keep those seats red but say this about the primaries:

“I don’t pay too much attention to the other side because I know there’s no chance I’m going to vote that way," explained Adam Sturdivant. "As a Christian-conservative and someone who will vote for President Trump, it’s not the most exciting thing in the world, but I will go out and support him.”

Part of the national conversation has been focused on the young voters.

There’s slight question mark for what the young vote totals will be in Mississippi because it’s spring break for most. The organization Mississippi Votes has been working to make sure they’re still engaged.

“Our fellows have really been trying to urge their peers to cast absentee votes," said Mississippi Votes Executive Director Arekia Bennett. "So, even students at JSU and Millsaps have been bused from the campus to the circuit clerk’s office to cast their votes.”

Some who are going to school out of state weren’t keyed in till they made it home for the break.

“I didn’t realize the primary for Mississippi was tomorrow because I go to Samford in Alabama," noted J.D. Beall. "For them, the primary was last Tuesday and I was kind of upset that I wasn’t able to vote. So, when I found out last night, my dad said, ‘Yeah you can just go with us.’ And I was actually kind of excited to do so.”

The Secretary of State’s office reported last week that, at the time, there were lower-than-normal numbers for absentee voters. Folks say they’re hopeful that won’t be an indicator for turnout tomorrow.

Copyright 2020 WLBT. All rights reserved.