In Our View: Election Season’s Here

The summer weather and the vacation schedule and the fact that the calendar says “July” don’t exactly suggest that the campaign season has arrived, and yet the reality begs to differ. The 2014 election season has, indeed, come to Clark County, with ballots for the primary being sent out today from the elections office.

Ballots must be returned by Aug. 5, paving the way for the Nov. 4 general election. Under the parameters of Washington’s primary system, the top two vote-getters in each race will move on to the general election. In other words, voters may support the candidate they think is best suited for the job, regardless of party affiliation, and the two candidates favored most by the electorate will face off in November — again, regardless of party affiliation.

Believe it or not, this bout of common sense remains a novel concept for much of the country. Most states still cling to the antiquated notion of party primaries, effectively limiting voters’ choices. In most states, Republicans vote only for Republicans during the primary, and vice versa for Democrats. This prevents some voters from expressing their opinion about who they actually think is the superior candidate, and also tends to push primaries into the hands of the more extreme factions of each party.

Not that Washington’s more evolved system was easily won. The state’s primary system passed when 60 percent of the voters approved Initiative 872 in 2004, and the idea eventually was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party.

In preparing for election season, The Columbian’s Editorial Board met with candidates for several key races on the primary ballot and then shared our recommendations with readers. As we often have mentioned, these are merely recommendations. Voters are wise enough to explore the issues and study the candidates on their own, but we hope that our input has been helpful to the electorate.

Some races on the November ballot have only two candidates, and therefore do not appear in the primary. For races that are being contested, The Columbian will consider the final two candidates and update our recommendations prior to the general election. Here is a recap of recommendations for this year’s primary election:

• Congressional Representative, Washington’s 3rd District: Jaime Herrera Beutler (R), and Bob Dingethal (D).

• Representative, Pos. 2, 17th Legislative District: Paul Harris (R), and Richard McCluskey (D).

• Representative, Pos. 1, 18th Legislative District: Brandon Vick (R), and Mike Briggs (D).

• Representative, Pos. 1, 49th Legislative District: Sharon Wylie (D).

• Representative, Pos. 2, 49th Legislative District: Jim Moeller (D), and Carolyn Crain (R).

• Clark County Sheriff: Chuck Atkins (R), and Shane Gardner (no party preference).

• Clark Public Utilities Commissioner, District No. 3: Byron Hanke and Jane Van Dyke.

But don’t take our word for it. Videos of the Editorial Board’s meetings with all candidates for the primary are available at Columbian.com, as are the numerous stories about the races that have been written by the paper’s reporting team. We encourage all voters to become informed on the issues and then exercise their Constitutional right to vote. Remember, exercise is good for all of us.