The 2016 presidential election is gearing up to go into hyperdrive this Tuesday. The day marks Super Tuesday, when 12 states will be voting simultaneously in their respective primaries.

Republicans and Democrats will battle for delegates in states that include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Vermont and eight others.

This is a pivotal point for all of the presidential candidates because the results will impact who the presidential nominees will be.

There are 595 Republican delegates and 1,004 Democrat delegates up for grabs, according to al.com.

For the 2016 election, Super Tuesday is also being referred to as “the SEC Primary.” This is because Alabama, Arkansas and Texas chose to join Georgia and Tennessee in holding Super Tuesday primaries.

The influx of Southern states — all of which have sports teams that compete in the Southeastern Conference — led to the name “SEC Primary,” Leada Gore of al.com reported.

Lexington sophomore Meredith Queen is excited to see how Super Tuesday plays out.

“It’s been an interesting run so far for the candidates, so I’m anxious to see how things turn out,” Queen said.

Kentucky, however, is not one of the states participating in the Super Tuesday primaries.

 Kentucky will hold a Republican caucus on Saturday, March 5th.

Queen, a registered Republican voter, believes college students should be encouraged to register and use their power to vote.

“I think we are the most pivotal voting point right now,” Queen said.

Louisville freshman Joshua Trickel believes votes for the presidential candidate don’t truly show that the voice of the people is being heard.

“I don’t know too much about how votes work, but I know there are our votes and the Electoral College,” Trickel said. “I think the Electoral College are the ones who choose who wins.”

Though some WKU students think their ballot doesn’t matter in the national election and prefer to vote only locally, Providence sophomore Destiny Starks doesn’t agree.

“Our voice matters,” Starks said. “Voting for a president shows that we care who leads our country and, locally, shows that we are interested in our intimate community life.”

The Herald conducted a survey of 36 WKU students and asked them if they could name any of the Republican candidates. All of the students were able to name Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Trump has won three states within the last few weeks, boosting his already large following. The momentum frightens some students when they think of Trump as a presidential nominee.

“It’s scary because a reality star — ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ — leading the country with no political or military background is weird,” Trickel said. “I think Trump is an awful candidate for the job.”

Trickel is surprised that people are continuing to vote for Trump because he has heard only from those who dislike the candidate.

Queen argues that the reason is because people aren’t registered to vote.

“We have to know that our voice is being heard even if you don’t think so,” Queen said.

She also said she believes Trump will be on the ballot for Republicans’ eventual nomination.

“The deciding factor if he [Trump] has two terms is up to us because we’ll be the ones looking for jobs,” Queen said. “We’ll decide if he gets another chance in office if there aren’t any jobs for us to get.”

Of the 36 students surveyed, half were registered to vote and half were not. Concerns about registering to vote stemmed from not being informed on issues.

Starks believes that you don’t have to be a political scientist to vote, but being informed matters.

“If you don’t have information on who you’re voting for, what good does that do?” Starks asked.