So, Why Didn’t You Vote?

Voter turnout in Tuesday’s presidential primary election was dismal in Spokane County. Perhaps as low as 9 percent and that’s of registered voters. The percentage of eligible voters would be even lower.

County Elections Supervisor Tom Wilbur blamed it on the usual suspect: “apathy with a capital A.”

Several years ago, however, the Harwood Group of Bethesda, Md., did a nationwide study that exonerated apathy as the culprit in declining voter turnout figures.

It’s not that people are apathetic about politics, that study found; it’s that they don’t want to waste their civic energy on activities in which they have no influence. No impact.

Even if both the Republican and Democratic presidential nominations hadn’t been sewn up already, Tuesday’s primary elections in Washington state determined only half of the state’s 36 delegates to the Republican National Convention and had no bearing on the Democrats’ nominating process.

(And if you’re among the majority of those voting Tuesday who cast an “unaffiliated” ballot rather than declaring yourself a Democrat or Republican, your vote didn’t count at all.)

But the Harwood Group and the elections supervisor have had their say. Now, it’s readers’ turn - especially readers who chose not to vote Tuesday. What were your reasons?

If kids can’t put down ‘Goosebumps,’ a parent can

If Stephen King wrote children’s books, he might write something like “Goosebumps.” Which explains how “Goosebumps” became the latest target of parental criticism of reading material available in public schools here.

“Goosebumps” is not a single book; it is a series of books that spring from the prolific imagination of author R.L. Stine. The common theme of the books, as the name implies, is their scary genre. They are wildly popular and commercially successful.

Saying two of her elementary school children experienced nightmares after reading one of Stine’s books, a mother has asked officials to remove the series from libraries in Spokane School District 81, touching off a variation of a familiar debate.

If children find these books fun, say “Goosebumps” defenders, it will make them eager to read. Counters the mom: There are other, better books that will serve that purpose; use them instead.

Care to join the discussion?

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