Our View: Casting primary ballot has never been easier

If you haven’t already done your civics homework, you’ve got nine days left to do it. The test will be open-book, and there won’t be any trick questions. To top it off, 46 percent is a passing grade.

There’s simply no excuse for failing this one.

Secretary of State Sam Reed predicts a “strong” 46 percent voter turnout for the Washington’s first “top two” primary Aug. 19, the highest turnout for a presidential election-year primary since 1972.

February’s presidential primary posted a lackluster 41 percent turnout statewide. Many voters abstained on principle, citing party declarations, caucuses and superdelegates as flaws in a system that sapped the voters’ influence on the outcome.

None of those hitches exists this time around. Still, less than half of registered voters are projected to exercise their unprecedented power in this primary, and Reed expects us to be happy with that.

Let’s surprise him. Here are six of the many reasons you should cast your primary ballot on or before Aug. 19:

(1) The “top two” primary blows your options wide open when it comes to political parties. Though most candidates state a party preference, your choice is unrestricted by the parties. The parties aren’t happy with it, but Washington’s staunchly independent voters should be delighted.

(2) In the primaries, you probably won’t have to choose the “lesser of two evils.” In fact, your vote in the primaries will only help prevent “evils” from reaching the general election ballot. In Spokane County, the 2004 general election saw an 81 percent voter turnout, but their ballot options were largely determined by the 47 percent who voted in the primary.

(3) Some races will probably be decided in the primary. Nonpartisan races (such as judicial offices and state superintendent) will award the offices to candidates who receive more than 50 percent of primary votes.

(4) It couldn’t be easier. Your ballot is already in your hands, and you have plenty of time to look it over. If you see a candidate or race you weren’t expecting, you don’t have to leave it blank or vote blind. Start with MyVote, the secretary of state’s online tool (vote.wa.gov), to find candidate statements, Web site addresses and informational numbers.

(5) It’s free. While some have complained that first-class postage on mail-in ballots constitutes a poll tax, the extensive list of ballot drop-off locations (postage unnecessary) defuses that objection – it might even be easier to swing by your local library than to rummage for a stamp.

(6) You’re free. It’s easy to take our country’s history of peaceful transition of power for granted, but recent elections in Zimbabwe and Kenya remind us that this legacy isn’t universal. If we lose interest in self-government, it’s a poor example to countries that struggle to establish and preserve it.

Americans like to quote Lincoln’s “government of the people, by the people, for the people” statement, but voting shows that we believe it. We all have a “government job.” We’d better show up for work.