Primary election not worth the trouble, expense
Here is how you can prepare to vote in next week’s primary election:
First, pray that it doesn’t snow on Tuesday.
Then, hope you never have to vote in another election in February.
While you’re at it, wish that you never again have to vote in a primary election.
Why? Because the primary election might be the single biggest waste of tax dollars in Illinois.
In these tough times, when government is looking for places to cut back, the primary election would be a great place to start.
REALLY, what’s the point?
Whiteside County is going to spend about $132,000 on this primary, according to County Clerk Dana Nelson.
The primary will cost Lee County a little more than half of its 2010 election budget of $245,000, says County Clerk Nancy Nelson.
And for what?
So that Whiteside County Democratic voters can pick which five of six Democratic hopefuls will be candidates for County Board District 2 in the Nov. 2 election.
And Lee County Republican voters can determine which of five candidates will fill three slots for County Board District 3 on the fall ballot.
Because those are the only purely local contests on this ballot.
That’s it.
County sheriff: No contested primary in either Lee or Whiteside County.
County treasurer: Ditto.
Same story in most County Board districts on the ballot.
How sad is that?
WHEN WE TALK about primary election “voters,” we really mean about 25 percent of the people who are registered to vote.
And that’s 25 percent of maybe half of the people in the county who are eligible to register. That’s one of every eight adults.
Many people don’t vote in primaries because they don’t want to declare their “politics.”
Others don’t vote in primaries because they don’t have a lot to vote for.
Isn’t nominating candidates for the ballot really a function of the political parties?
Then let’s let them do it.
We’ll see them in November.
RANTINGS ASIDE, that summary of the primary election is only slightly exaggerated.
Sure, voters next week will get to help select the November candidates for governor, Congress, U.S. Senate and more.
Like state comptroller. Not one in a thousand voters can name the three candidates – on either ballot – who are running for state comptroller.
Can you name even one?
There has to be a better way.
There used to be a better way.
It’s called a political party nominating convention.
THAT’S RIGHT: Eliminate the direct primary and let the political parties choose their own candidates for November.
They, at least, care enough to do it. Which is more than you can say of most other folks.
Think of the time and money we would save by not trying to interest the public in political party functions.
Think of how we could avoid the guilt from A) not voting in the primary or B) having never heard of most of the candidates on the primary ballot.
Let the political parties – Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Blues, Anarchists, Aardvarks, Whigs, Whatever – bear the cost of local and state conventions to nominate their candidates.
Let the party organizations put their best people on the November ballot. That’s the only popular vote we really need.
And, maybe, in a big election in November, we can get half of the registered voters to participate.
WE MUST SAY thanks to the above-mentioned county clerks – Dana Nelson in Whiteside County and Nancy Nelson in Lee County – for taking a few minutes from their busy day Wednesday to check those budget numbers for us.
Nancy Nelson is not seeking re-election, but we appreciate her good service to Lee County.
And we wish Dana Nelson good luck in Tuesday’s primary election.
Wait a minute ... she has no opponent.
In that case, we wish her good luck in the November race.
But ... uh, she has no opponent in that election, either.
Then, congratulations, Dana.
That was a heck of a campaign.
