Marc Scheineson of McLean, Va., left, campaigns for Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, as Atlant Schmidt of Nashua, N.H., campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., while a voter walks past at a polling location at Broad Street Elementary in Nashua, N.H., Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, during the New Hampshire primary. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

by Julian Washington

The 2016 presidential election is coming up this November. On March 1, Virginia will have its primary election.

There are two main types of primaries in the US. Some states have a thing called an open primary, where any voter can cast a vote for any delegate regardless of his/her political affiliation. Other states run a closed primary, which means that you have to vote for someone who is in your previously declared political party.

Virginia has a hybrid primary, which simply means it falls in between an open and closed primary. To vote in the Virginia primary, you have to be a resident of Virginia and must be a United States citizen.

When asked, a majority of Norfolk State University students told the Spartan Echo that they were voting for Bernie Sanders in the upcoming Virginia primary.

“Bernie Sanders is the right person for the job. He wants to make college free or even more affordable,” said a 19-year-old Fine Art major.

“He probably will be a model of Bill Clinton if he stayed all 8 years,” said Troy Griffin, a 22-year-old Biology major.

“Bernie Sanders will be a better president than Donald Trump,” said Soriba Kamara, 20-year-old IT major.

The frontrunners for the Democratic Party are Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders having a combined 85.3 percent of the vote, while the Republican Party has a much tighter race; Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are combining for 68.3 percent of the vote. The General Election will be on November 8, 2016.

If you are old enough to vote in the primary, do it. Every vote counts and it could benefit you extremely in the future.