Primary election interest welcome

Fri, May 16 2008

— There’s something about nominating a president that gets American voters all atwitter. But that’s good for a primary election.
In recent years, primary pollworkers have been twice as bored as the Maytag repair man. Voters don’t seem to want to give up their political anonymity by selecting a Republican or a Democratic ballot in the primary election.

The paltry primary turnout in recent years has been insulting to the country’s democratic process. It also means some candidates were nominated by a mere fraction of the populace. In Elkhart County, this often means that candidates are not only nominated but essentially elected in the primary because often there are no Democratic challengers.
But times have changed this year. With a relevant Democratic presidential primary, putative Democrats are emerging from the woodwork. Voter registration is up and absentee voters have been lining up to vote early.

It’s good for the election process for voters to be excited about candidates. But even those picking a Republican ballot this year should have something to mull over when considering which ovals to darken.
In fact, there may be a few votes for Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney for president. U.S. Rep. Mark Souder faces a challenge from Scott Wise.

But then there are three candidates hoping to gain the GOP nomination for state Senate and three candidates seeking the GOP nomination for the District 49 state representative post.
And the best is yet to come. There are five — yes, five — candidates for the Republican nomination for judge of Superior Court 5. And on the back side of the GOP ballot, there are races for county commissioner and county council at-large nominations. What’s not to like about all these choices?

Candidates stick out their necks to run for public office, and they may find some of the public scrutiny unsettling. But they are to be commended for tossing their hats in the ring.
The least voters can do is go to the polls to not only support the democratic process but also reaffirm the effort put forth by candidates.