Electioneering

Much is made about the American public not turning out to vote. Given the many arcane and ridiculous voting rules in place, it's a wonder that fewer people don't decide to stay home.

Here's a case in point: The state of Washington has both a caucus and a primary. This one makes no sense. Their caucuses are today. Voters don't really know where they are suppose to go for their local caucus location. This is compounded by the fact caucuses start at 2pm when many people are out for weekend daytime activities. What's important is that it's these caucuses that are used to select delegates in Washington. The odd thing is that Washington holds primary elections on February 19. Since their delegates are selected through the caucus process, the primaries are essentially meaningless. This hasn't stopped the state from mailing out countless mail-in ballots.

Another case in point: An issue has surfaced with Washington's mail-in ballots. In order to vote through the mail-in process, voters are to mark their party affiliation on their ballots. The ballots are deemed invalid if this is not done. It turns out that a high percentage of ballots have been returned without such an indication. Although it's been noted that the place to mark the ballot is buried in fine print on the outside of the ballot, the real issue is why this is even necessary. Isn't vote counting automated these days? Shouldn't the election office already have information on voter registration? Why is there a need for voters to state their party affiliation?