Politics and Primaries

Tuesday was the Virginia primary. I couldn't tell you what for, and I couldn't tell you who was running. Frankly, I couldn't have told you we were HAVING a primary if I hadn't happened to catch the snippet on the morning news. Gurvir Dhinsa and Steve Chenevey were up in their anchor chairs, lamenting the lack of primary activity and wondering why it was that only x% of eligible VA voters show up for the primaries: Those ignorant fools, how can they live with themselves knowing that they are not taking part in our Constitutional rights - nay - duties?!

I'm not positive, but it's possible that it's due to the fact that most of the population didn't know we were having one. Sure we'd seen political posters go up, but then again, Gallup is already running polls about the presidential race that won't even occur for another... 16 months and 3 weeks. How were we to know, as we zipped past the signs at 50 mph, that these were for a primary in June rather than an election in November - either this year or next? You'd think that the candidates would have been papering the mailboxes for weeks leading up to it.

Besides, the politicos seem to go out of their way to make it as difficult as possible. I've never voted in a primary, despite nearly 10 years of voting eligibility, because I don't know how. I'm not so clueless that I can't figure out touch screens and levers, or decipher hanging chads if need be, but frankly I don't know the rules. Every time we hear about one, it seems to be only for voters registered with a certain political party. I'm not registered with a political party - I used to be a staunch Democrat, but perhaps age is souring me (fear not, friends and family, I have not yet crossed to the Dark Side) - and I like the freedom of voting for anyone I feel is best for the position based on the information I have rather than feeling obligated or pressured to vote for one person because they're affiliated with my party. So, kindly correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe I am even permitted, as a registered voter without a registered party, to vote in primary elections. I can only imagine that the requirement for voters in a given primary to be affiliated with a certain party is to avoid members of the opposite party intentionally going in and skewing the votes to the least qualified candidate. However, with the number of unaffiliated or disillusioned-former-affiliated voters growing exponentially by the year, how can they expect any kind of turnout at primaries unless they open it up?

Point: Don't talk about us like we're a bunch of ignorant yokels who have only to waltz in and push a few buttons but still choose to stay sat on our butts. If you want to get more of us involved, make it easier for us to know when, where, and how. Until we're given the information we need, we can't be criticized or held responsible for not knowing it.