Early primary protects our right to vote
Monday, January 23, 2006 7:32 AM PST
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E-mail this articleSecretary of State Sam Reed's call for legislation moving Washington's mid-September primary election to an earlier date resonates with at least one state legislator. Sen. Dave Schmidt, R-Mill Creek, in fact, may be the one elected official more determined to see this common-sense change brought about than Reed. Schmidt says it's been "a defining issue" for him since he first came to the Legislature in 1994.
Schmidt is sponsoring a bill that would move the state's primary from the third Tuesday in September to the third Tuesday in August, giving election's officials 30 additional days' turnaround between the primary and general elections. Reed supports that change, as we do.
Reed cautions that the current primary date is an election fiasco waiting to happen. He's right. There are only a few short weeks between the September primary and November general election. By the time primary results are certified, counties have less than three weeks to print and mail general election ballots to voters. That's not enough time to allow for recounts in close primary races. Even without a recount, it's not been enough time to get general election ballots in the hands of some voters.
Indeed, moving the primary to an earlier date is critical to ensuring that voters are not disenfranchised. This is especially true for members of the armed forces serving overseas, and that's a large part of the reason Schmidt has been so determined all these years to get it done.
The Mill Creek Republican, a 22-year member of the Army National Guard, says he "made a promise to my fellow national guard members that I would do everything in may power to see that each and every one of their votes counted each and every election year."
Schmidt has kept that promise by introducing legislation just about every year he's been in Olympia, through four terms in the House and one in the Senate. Schmidt thinks this might be the year he succeeds. He's said the year looks more promising than any in recent memory.
Washington voters have reason to hope that's the case. They, in fact, have reason to give their legislators a push toward making this change. The earlier primary proposed by Schmidt is all about protecting their right to vote.
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