I voted today (mailed in my absentee ballot)!

Have you?  The polls here in Washington are open from 7 am to 8 pm.

If you have questions, you can check online with the Secretary of State’s Office, or call the Voter Information Hotline at (800) 448-4881.

Photo credit:  Wikimedia, public domain

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Post from: The Seattle Traveler

Yes, that’s right.  Even though you learned all about our long-standing caucus system, found out where your caucus was, and made it there to caucus and vote, there’s still another step in Washington State.

On Tuesday, February 19th, Washington State will have its very first Presidential Primary.

So what does this all mean?  Well, let’s break into down into three parts:  the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and local issues.

• The Democratic Party chose its delegates for the presidential election in caucuses held on February 9th.  The full list of candidates still appears on the primary ballot, and while you are not required to cast an additional vote for your candidate of choice, you are free to do so.  This is what’s called an advisory or “beauty contest” vote, and it will have no impact on the delegate selection.
• The Republican Party chose half its delegates for the presidential in the February 9th caucuses.  The other half of the delegates will be chosen based on the outcome of the February 19th primary vote.  If you are supporting a Republican candidate, it’s important to vote in the primary to help shore up the delegate count for your candidate of choice.  This is the first time there has been a presidential primary in this state, and this is how the Republican party has chosen to choose and allocate delegates.
• Local municipalities have measures on the primary ballot, so even if you don’t give a hoot about presidential politics, voting on these issues will be important.

Because of my work schedule, I vote by absentee ballot.  After filling out the ballot with my votes for the party and candidate of my choice and voting my local issues, I still had one more step. 

The outside of the absentee mailing envelope has an area to declare and check off the appropriate political party selection.  This is required, and becomes, by law, a part of the public record.  The declaration only applies to this presidential primary vote, and can be changed at any time.  If you do not declare a party preference, you cannot vote for presidential candidates, but may still vote on local measures.

Confusing?  A bit; it’s our first time through this, after all. 

The important thing to remember is that — regardless of your political preference — go out and vote!

Washington State’s Presidential Primary is Tuesday, February 19th.

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Post from: The Seattle Traveler

It matters not whether I like or dislike the caucus format.  It’s what Washington State has had for years.  This year is the first year of a presidential primary, although the delegate selection process is still heavily weighted toward the caucus system.

My caucus was held at a local area church.  Registration was to begin at 1 pm, with a call to order at 1:30 pm.  By 1:00 the parking lot was full, and drivers were being directed to nearby business lots and residential neighborhoods for parking.  I was excited.  This is what the democratic process is supposed to be about — grassroots involvement.

I had read lots of comments from previous posts about corrupt the process was, and how controlled it was by the political establishment.  That belief did not bear out at my caucus.  In fact, the reverse seemed to be true, causing an entirely different set of issues and problems.

Here are my observations of the process:

• People should refrain from wearing heavy perfume to small events.  I’ve been battling some serious allergies problems for the past week, and I had to take up a post by the door in order to breathe.
• People were allowed to sign in, designating their “preference” of candidate, and then leave prior to the call to order.  This seems to defeat the purpose of a caucus in my mind, but the precinct chair said it was fine.  Interestingly enough, those who left tended to be the youngest in age.
• Despite record turn outs for caucuses and primaries across the country, there was not adequate room.  My precinct met in a hallway, where it was hard to hear from one end to the other.  There was one chair available for seating.
• People were in a hurry to have the process done and over.  There was a sense of rushing to be out the door.  At 1:34 (it had not yet even been called to order), there were complaints about how long things were taking.
• There were a set of rules and procedures that were distributed along with an agenda.  Neither were followed.  It wasn’t a purposeful hijacking of the process, it was a lack of strong leader (and is some cases there was no leader present at all) to shepherd the process.
• People were, by and large, fairly congenial.  There was frustration over the lack of organization and that not knowing what was going on.  There was frustration over the process not being followed.

I had a warm, fuzzy notion that there would be a discussion of sorts, a chance for people to ask questions and be heard.  That some people who showed up would be undecided, and following a spirited discussion would make their decision.

That didn’t happen.  Here’s what did: 

Someone stood on a chair in the hall and ask if anyone wanted to speak on behalf of Candidate X.  There was mumbling as everyone tried to overcome their shy natures, but someone finally said a few words.  Then, someone was asked to speak for Candidate Y.  When the second person finished, the person on the chair asked “OK is anyone interested in changing their preference.”  There was silence in the hallway.  The person on the chair said okay we’re done — and we were.

I think it’s important to follow rules and procedures when it comes to these kind of things.  I think it’s important to give everyone the opportunity to be heard, and that didn’t happen.  (To be fair, after everyone started to disperse, the precinct chair reappeared and offered to do a “do-over” if that would keep people happy.) 

The process was a disaster, filled with lots and lots of things that should have been done differently.  But the issues and problems didn’t occur because the system or the people are corrupt.  They occurred because the caucus system is full of neighbors who mean well, and want to make a difference, but have no experience to manage or lead the process.  With a couple of exceptions, we really were the blind leading the blind.

At the end of the day, with the procedures followed properly, the outcome of my caucus vote would be the same.  What would be different, however, is that people would feel that they had a chance to be heard, and as such would not feel quite so disenfranchised.

NOTE:  I’ve enjoyed talking and reading about the different experiences people have had, not just here in Washington but around the country.  It’s a fascinating look into the hearts, minds, and psyche of our respective cities.  It speaks a lot about who we are as a society.  However, this is the end of the political posts here at The Seattle Traveler.  If you wish to share a comment about your caucus experience, feel free to do so, but please be respectful, and do not turn the comments into a political campaign.

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Post from: The Seattle Traveler