Everything you need to know about Super Tuesday on March 3, the biggest day in the Democratic primaries
- March 3, or "Super Tuesday," is the single most important day of the Democratic presidential primary.
- Fourteen states, one territory, and Democrats living abroad all hold Democratic primaries and caucuses to allocate 1,357 delegates, 35% of all the delegates allotted throughout the nomination process.
- Polls close in Vermont and Virginia at 7 p.m. ET, North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. ET, Tennessee, Maine, Texas, Alabama, Massachusetts, and Oklahoma at 8 p.m. ET, and in Arkansas at 8:30 p.m. ET.
- Polls close in Colorado and Minnesota at 9 p.m. ET, in Utah at 10 p.m. ET, and in California at 11 p.m. ET.
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Which states are voting?
Fourteen states, one US territory, and Democrats abroad all vote on Super Tuesday:
- Alabama
- American Samoa
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
Additionally, Democratic voters living overseas in foreign countries vote in-person or absentee on Super Tuesday.
When do the polls close in each state?
- Virginia and Vermont: polls close at 7:00 p.m. local Eastern Time
- North Carolina: polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET
- Maine and Massachusetts: polls close at 8 p.m. ET
- Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma: polls close at 7 p.m. local time, 8 p.m. ET
- Tennessee: polling places in the western half of the state located in the Central Time Zone close at 7 p.m. Central, and polls in the eastern half of the state located in the Eastern Time Zone close at 8 p.m. ET.
- Arkansas: polls close at 7:30 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Colorado: polls close at 7 p.m. local time, 9 p.m. ET.
- Minnesota: polls close at 8 p.m. local time, 9 p.m. ET
- Utah: polls close at 8 p.m. local time, 10 p.m. ET
- California: polls close at 8 p.m. local time, 11 p.m. ET
How many delegates are at stake?
The Democratic nomination isn't decided by who wins the sheer most number of votes, but by which candidate earns the most pledged delegates. Every state is allotted a certain number of delegates based on how big the state is, how Democratic they lean, when they vote, and if they vote with neighboring states.
There are a grand total of 1,357 pledged delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday, accounting for 35% of all the total delegates allocated throughout the Democratic nomination process.
The two biggest delegate prizes of the day are California, which accounts for 415 pledged delegates, or 10.7% of the total, and Texas, which allocates 228 pledged delegates.
North Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts also account for 110, 99, and 91 delegates respectively, also making them important places to rack up delegates on Super Tuesday.
Democrats allocate most of their pledged delegates proportionally by legislative district, in addition to allocating at-large and PLEO (party leader and elected official) delegates based on the statewide vote breakdown.
Most states allocate their delegates by congressional districts, but some, like Texas and New Jersey, use state legislative districts instead.
While delegates are allocated proportionally, in nearly every state the minimum threshold to earn delegates is 15% of the vote. This means candidates must break 15% of the vote either at the district or state level to earn any delegates at all.
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