Super Tuesday’s bigfooting highlights how presidential selection process can exclude many US voters

By GARY FIELDS
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Super Tuesday is almost here, with 16 states holding contests this coming week. It’s the biggest day on the election calendar. But for many Americans who live in places that hold primaries much later, it means they’ll often have little say in choosing the presidential contenders by the time their turn comes to weigh in. A primary season that engages only a fraction of the electorate to choose the candidates is a reminder of how the U.S. election system excludes many voters and differs starkly from that of most other democracies around the world. To some, it raises questions about whether the world’s oldest and most prominent democracy might also be among the least representative.