Regrettably, Our Timing Is Way Off Expand Opportunity Campaign In Spring, When Attention’S High.

For political campaigns to engage the voters, it takes time - time for candidates to show their real colors and for voters to reflect on what they see. Just ask Sen. John McCain and his growing army of supporters. The enthusiasm he is attracting shows that voters do still want to be involved.

But voters also need a full opportunity to get involved. Here in Washington state, for every race except the presidency, the election schedule discourages involvement. The problem is our mid-September primary election, one of the latest in the nation.

Most states, like neighboring Idaho, offer two separate campaign seasons. In the fall, after summer vacations, there’s the runoff. In the spring, before summer vacations, there’s a primary campaign - the more challenging of the two because it asks voters to narrow the field from as many as a dozen candidates.

A recent bipartisan study recommended Washington change its system. So far, legislators have declined. That’s too bad. Every year with the old system is another missed opportunity.

Washington should move its primary election from mid-September to mid-June. The week when office seekers file and commence their campaigns also would move, from July to April.

Now, most of the primary campaign season occurs in August, when people would rather think about boating than voting.

A late-spring campaign occurs when people are paying attention and memories of recent legislative action are fresh.

The current calendar creates serious procedural headaches. The number of absentee voters is growing rapidly and soon will pass 50 percent. The extra time required to receive and count absentees makes it impossible to know which candidates have won the closest races, until as late as October. Suppose a Democratic incumbent emerges easily from the September primary and launches into a campaign for the November election, while two Republican challengers are left hanging for weeks, locked in recounts. That’s not fair. Also, until officials know the September outcome, they can’t print the November ballots. This makes it tough to meet legal deadlines for distribution of absentees to military personnel who live abroad. Election officials predict a crunch someday, followed by a lawsuit and a court-ordered change. Why wait for that?

The right thing to do is already plain: Move the primary, to a June date that will encourage fuller public participation.