Story by Meg Krausch, Detroit Documenter.
This voter guide was originally published by the Detroit Documenters/Outlier Media. Information has been adapted for the needs of the Signal Akron community.

Akronites have historically voted for Democrats in overwhelming majorities. This means that a lot of the competition for candidates in partisan races actually happens in the primary, within the Democratic party ballot.

For many of the big races, the election is more or less decided by the time the general election happens (although there are definitely exceptions to this, and both the primary and general elections are important).

That was the case with the primary election in May 2023, when current Akron Mayor Shammas Malik won the Democratic primary with about 43% of the vote, defeating six challengers, including former Akron Deputy Mayor Marco Sommerville, former Akron City Council Member Tara Mosley and Jeff Wilhite, who is a member of Summit County Council.

Read more: Candidates to know in the March 19 primary election in Akron

Because there was no Republican challenger in the mayor’s race, Malik became the apparent mayor-elect until he was formally elected in November.

The basics

Primary elections are the chance the voters have to decide who will be nominated by each political party to run in the general election. 

In a partisan race, such as for the U.S. Senate or Congress, primaries narrow the field down to one candidate within each political party. 

In presidential election years, a presidential primary is now held in March. The winner of a primary in Ohio will be the candidate who gets the most votes, but a candidate doesn’t need to get a majority of votes to win.

For the presidential primary, the vote determines who receives most of the delegates, who then go on to vote for that candidate at the party nominating convention.

Voter pitfall to avoid: Not voting because “nothing ever changes.” Local elections can be decided by a small number of votes, and local officials make decisions about things that affect you everyday like schools, housing and transportation. Casting your vote and staying involved after the election are ways to make change.

Why should I vote in a primary?

The candidate of your choice needs your support in the primary to improve their chances of being in the November general election.

This is particularly true for state and local races on your ballot. Fewer votes overall and in lower-profile races further down the ballot mean that each vote carries more weight.

In 2020, about twice as many people voted in the November general election (5,974,121) in Ohio as voted in the August primary (1,834,465). This also means that it’s easier for special interest groups or well-financed candidates to influence the election in the primary.

Lower-level races like these are important too because they are often stepping stones to higher office. U.S. Rep. Emilia Syktes was first elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, before going on to the U.S. House, where she now has a national profile.

Even if the candidate you vote for doesn’t win, your primary vote still matters. Political parties and candidates might decide to devote more or less attention and resources toward certain demographics, policies and issues based on voter turnout and primary results.

Candidates who receive significant support but ultimately don’t win primary elections can sometimes still influence the winning candidate and the platform they take with them to the general election.