The Washington State primary election is next Tuesday, February 19th, so imagine Elysia’s surprise when the news reported that John McCain and Barack Obama had won Washington on the 9th.
You would think we would know how the elections work. After all, we lived there from 2000 to 2002 for Elysia’s first duty station at Bremerton and she has voted as a state resident in every election since. Only now did we discover that the primary is somewhat of a sham and that the caucus system excludes many people, including servicemembers. Apparently we are not the only ones who were out of the loop.
The idea of a caucus is cool – you show up to a precinct, declare a party affiliation, and register your vote. If you are undecided or persuadable, you have an opportunity to share your thoughts and concerns with others in your party, and informal debating ensues. Call it an attempt at informed voting. Unfortunately, you have to be available to attend a caucus for about two hours on a Saturday. This excludes anyone working that day, with mobility issues, or residents who are out of state.
We did not even know there was a caucus system because Washington State also has a primary election, which the voters approved in a 1989 state initiative. When you register to vote, you kind of assume that your vote is going to count. It may . . . or it may not: The political parties are not required to take the election results into account when they allocate delegates. That helpful information is buried on page 3 of the State’s FAQ on the primary.
For the 2008 caucus, the Washington State Republican Party allocates 51 percent of their delegates based on the primary results but does not allow absentee voters to choose the remaining 49 percent through the caucus. The Washington State Democratic Party ignores the primary election results entirely and blames the state for spending $9 million to hold it — never mind that the people voted for it. The Democrats allow you to vote absentee in the caucus only if you are a servicemember, are disabled or have religious reasons for not going to a caucus on a Saturday. But you won’t learn these details when you register to vote in the primary or vote absentee. Instead, the voting materials imply that your vote really counts:
Washington’s Presidential Primary allows Washington voters an important role in nominating candidates for the highest office in the land . . . [emphasis added]
It is only online that the importance is explained:
Had Washington not held a presidential primary in 2000, the candidates may not have visited our state . . .
And if a pointless election doesn’t bring them in, at least those salmon throwers at the Pike Place Market will!
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More background and discussion on this bizarre arrangement here:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004148965_caucusprimary28m.html