Your chance to demonstrate democracy

Tuesday is an important day.

In fact, you might say it is of “Primary” importance.

That’s right, it’s the Primary Election Day.

No, it’s not a holiday, unless you happen to toil in the Media Courthouse. But it should be one of those days we circle on our calendar. Not as a day off, but as a day on.

It’s a day that compels us as citizens to take part in our democratic process.

We do that by finding our way to our local polling place at some point between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. and casting our ballots.

For what, you might ask? We’re not electing another president for two more years. Hey, maybe by then the Democrats will even have whittled down the small army of candidates seeking the nod to tangle with incumbent Republican President Donald Trump.

But the fact that there is no presidential “sizzle” to lure you to the voting booth is no excuse. In fact, we would make the argument that the local elected positions up for grabs on Tuesday in many ways have a greater effect on our everyday lives than the president.

But first things first. No one actually wins an elected post on Tuesday, unless you happen to live in Philadelphia, where Democrats for the most part continue to rule uncontested.

Here in the suburbs, the Primary Election is where parties nominate candidates who will be on the ballot come November.

School board candidates and county judges will be on many ballots in the region. These are tricky.

In Pennsylvania, school board and judicial candidates can cross-file, meaning that it’s possible for a candidate to win on both party tickets, nearly assuring a win come November.

If you’re looking for a reason not to skip voting on Tuesday, this might be it. You’re not only missing the opportunity to have your voice heard, you could be inadvertently short-circuiting the importance of your vote in the fall.

In addition to county offices across the suburbs, voters in each municipality and school district will be nominating candidates for their ruling bodies.

These are the often anonymous people who set that tax rates you so often grumble about, who make sure your trash gets picked up, and who see to it that your street gets plowed in the winter.

In other words, they have a big effect on your life.

Voters also will nominate candidates for the important people who represent an integral part of our system of justice. They are the magisterial district judges, the first person criminal suspects go before after being arrested. They are the people who set bail for suspects, and determine whether the state has presented enough evidence at a preliminary hearing to hold a suspect over for trial.

The Primary system is far from perfect. Not a lot about voting in Pennsylvania is.

Independents continue to have the door slammed in their face on Primary Day. Pennsylvania has what is referred to as a closed primary. That is, it’s closed to anyone who is not registered as either a Republican or Democrat. Democrats nominate Democrats; Republicans nominate Republicans. Voters are limited to voting for those in the same party.

And if you’re registered Independent? You don’t get to vote for either party’s candidates. In fact, you are for the most part limited to casting a vote in any special election that may be on the ballot, as well as referendums.

That being said, there is something more fundamental that’s at stake Tuesday. It’s called citizenship. Much is made today of our politics, and bitter divide that separates the country and creates the kind of gridlock that we all loathe.

Not voting on Tuesday means you endorse that process. It means you don’t give a damn. That you can’t be bothered with the piddling Primary.

You could not be more wrong.

We all have strong opinions when it comes to politics. This is your chance to prove all the pundits wrong. Show that you will take part in the process.

In other words, give a damn.