Chill Out, People
Recently Washington State's system of primary voting changed. Previously it was a blanket primary. Anyone who wanted to be a candidate got their name on the ballot. You voted for one person for each position, regardless of which party they were affiliated with. Person with the most votes for each party made it onto the final ballot.
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled this method of voting unconstitutional and required the state to change systems. I don't know the nitty-gritty of why they said this, but I know that we, as a state, didn't get a choice in the matter. The top judicial dogs of the land said we've got to change, so as I see it we've got to change. Deal with it.
The new method of primary voting is such: When you get your ballot you pick a party (Democrat, Republican or Independent), and you vote for candidates in only that party. Top person in each party makes the final ballot. You don't have to declare your party. You can be a democrat for one election and a republican for the next. No one will ever know, no one will ever tell. You can vote for the other party, or split parties, come the general election, but you can only pick within that one party for the primary election.
This made a lot of people mad. Mad enough that they have an initiatve on the current ballot to change to a modified primary. Back to the old system where every candidate is on one ballot and you only get to pick one. However, instead of the top vote getter of each party making it on the final ballot, only the top two vote-getters overall make it onto the ballot. Because our voters rights are being trampled on by being forced to pick one party for the primary election.
ENOUGH ALREADY! This is the PRIMARY ELECTIONS we're talking about. The vote to decide who we get to vote for in the future. The likelihood that there will be two primary races that are of crucial importance to you, and that the candidates in those two races will be in different parties, is so infinitesimally small that you should just suck it up and pick which is most important to you.
In the 1960 primaires in Missouri my parents both voted Democrat so they could try to get someone other than JFK on the ballot. Not sure that I agree with their politics, but the issue was important enough to the folks that they sacrificed voting on the primary election in their other races to make that choice. It's not rocket science, people, it's a simple vote.
So, on election day, I'll be voting against I-872. (Actually, before election day since I vote by absentee ballot, but lets not cut hairs). I'd encourage you to vote the same, but I'd rather you vote against than not vote at all.
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled this method of voting unconstitutional and required the state to change systems. I don't know the nitty-gritty of why they said this, but I know that we, as a state, didn't get a choice in the matter. The top judicial dogs of the land said we've got to change, so as I see it we've got to change. Deal with it.
The new method of primary voting is such: When you get your ballot you pick a party (Democrat, Republican or Independent), and you vote for candidates in only that party. Top person in each party makes the final ballot. You don't have to declare your party. You can be a democrat for one election and a republican for the next. No one will ever know, no one will ever tell. You can vote for the other party, or split parties, come the general election, but you can only pick within that one party for the primary election.
This made a lot of people mad. Mad enough that they have an initiatve on the current ballot to change to a modified primary. Back to the old system where every candidate is on one ballot and you only get to pick one. However, instead of the top vote getter of each party making it on the final ballot, only the top two vote-getters overall make it onto the ballot. Because our voters rights are being trampled on by being forced to pick one party for the primary election.
ENOUGH ALREADY! This is the PRIMARY ELECTIONS we're talking about. The vote to decide who we get to vote for in the future. The likelihood that there will be two primary races that are of crucial importance to you, and that the candidates in those two races will be in different parties, is so infinitesimally small that you should just suck it up and pick which is most important to you.
In the 1960 primaires in Missouri my parents both voted Democrat so they could try to get someone other than JFK on the ballot. Not sure that I agree with their politics, but the issue was important enough to the folks that they sacrificed voting on the primary election in their other races to make that choice. It's not rocket science, people, it's a simple vote.
So, on election day, I'll be voting against I-872. (Actually, before election day since I vote by absentee ballot, but lets not cut hairs). I'd encourage you to vote the same, but I'd rather you vote against than not vote at all.
posted by Swankette at 11:11 PM
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