Vote in this primary matters most

We are less than a month away from another election, and even though off-year primaries usually draw the fewest voters, they are some of the most important ballots on the calendar. While there is no doubt that Congress and the President can create policies that impact our daily lives, we tend to interact much more frequently and directly with our local officials.

Because many of the races in off-years are for nonpartisan positions like judges and school board directors, candidates are able to cross-register in the primaries. This means that candidates from the Republican Party can appear on Democratic primary ballots, and vice versa.

On the face of it, this is a wellintentioned practice. We want judges who will put aside party affiliations when they take the bench. We want school directors to put aside political differences in order to work together ensuring that our children get the best education possible while also representing the interests of the tax payers. Having these candidates spend the primary season meeting and talking with voters from the opposite party is a good idea.

The downside is that some of the candidates that appear on your primary ballot may support a platform that is completely at odds with your beliefs, and the usual cueing that party labels can provide is absent.

I appreciate that very few voters believe in every plank of their party’s platform, and not every candidate is completely in-step with each item on their party’s platform either. There is also great value in voting for the individual rather than the party. Not too long ago I had a Democratic presidential candidate’s sign in my yard next to a Republican congressional candidate’s sign.

Still, party affiliation does tend to give a general picture of a candidate’s views.

One of the most important aspects of this primary is the way that it sets the slate for the general election in November. Ordinarily, Republicans vote among a handful of Republican candidates to select the strongest to go to the general election, and Democrats do the same for their candidates.

But cross-registration means that a strong showing by one party at the primaries can completely eliminate candidates from the other party from appearing on the ballot in the general election.

For instance, if 1,000 very loyal Democrats show up to the primary in April and vote only for Democratic candidates, and 750 Republicans show up and only vote for Republicans, then only Democrats will win ballot spots for November. When the average voter arrives at the polls in November, they will have to choose among a slate of Democrats, regardless of the voter’s party.

While in much of our country extremely strong partisan control is the norm, effectively suffocating the two-party system, in our area the recent trend is strongly towards purple, with very narrow margins of victory.

Because of that narrow margin, and without party labels on these primary ballots, if only 750 of those above loyal Democrats show up, and another 250 Democrats just vote randomly, there could well be only Republicans on the ballot come November.

So, during this primary season there are no election day shortcuts. Compounding that, these offices are local, and each election can be won with very small turnout, so each vote matters more. On a day when the votes will determine who we can choose from in November, and each vote carries the most weight, our system relies on the voters to dig around and find out what they can about the candidates before arriving at the polls.

Most local newspapers and local parties are not accustomed to providing heavy coverage of these off-year primary elections because of the low turnout, most primary posts are single party, and usually one candidate or slate gets an official party endorsement. This lack of coverage makes knowing which candidates most match up with your beliefs that much harder.

But it can be done. Visit your county’s voter services website (or stop by in person) and look up the specimen ballot for your district and party. There may be a bunch of names on it, but don’t let that intimidate you. It will only take you a few minutes to search up each candidate and see which ones will best represent your interests. This could restore your faith that our democracy works and that the internet can be used for good purposes.