School is out, Memorial Day has passed and summer has arrived in an even numbered year. This signals, among other things, the beginning of the campaign season for elections. The deadline for filing as a candidate in the midterm primary elections was June 1 with those elections being held Aug. 21. Wyoming is one of 14 states that has closed primaries, meaning a person can only vote within their political party in the primaries.
Just before the filing deadline, the Saratoga Sun noticed there were very few candidates for local offices and ran an ad saying so. We are very pleased that, instead of the one person who had filed at that time for Saratoga Town Council, we ended up with six filing for the position. We noticed several other positions around the county that had last minute filings as well.
We would like to take the time to thank everyone who filed for office. We know these positions are often thankless and require time, thought and effort—but running shows you are committed to helping our municipalities despite these considerations.
Wyoming has been given several choices this election year in the Senate, Representative and Gubernatorial elections. Representative Liz Cheney has two other Republicans running against her in the primary elections while Senator John Barrasso has five contenders for his position. As for Governor, six Republicans and four Democrats are running to fill the seat soon to be vacated by Governor Matt Mead.
Despite the plethora of candidates available to Wyoming voters, the very real threat of voter apathy still looms. It’s a very easy trap to fall into and an even harder one to get out of. The apathy tends to be worse during midterm elections, which are very important measures in their own right.
According to data made available by the Wyoming’s Secretary of State, in 2014 the number of people in the state who were voting age was approximately 444,979. The number of registered voters as of the primaries, however, was only 259,113 people–roughly 58 percent. When the primary elections came around, only 120,023 people (46 percent of registered voters, or 26 percent of those who could possibly cast a ballot), turned out to vote.
Less than 30 percent of people who were of voting age in Wyoming went to the polls. The general election didn’t fare much better. While the number of registered voters increased to 264,930, just over 170,000 people voted–putting the turnout at 38.5 percent.
Voter apathy is a very real problem, not just in Wyoming, but around the nation. Many people don’t feel as if their vote counts during the presidential elections. In addition, energy that does get generated during the presidential election cycle dissipates by the time the midterm elections come around and turnout drops.
Midterms, however, are extremely important and are often referred to as “the President’s Report Card.” While the electoral college is often the decider of who is the next Commander-in-Chief, the people themselves will decide who will represent them on the municipal, county, state and national levels.
It has often been during these elections that the House of Representatives or the Senate switch from a Democratic majority to a Republican majority or the other way around.
Another problem, one that is experienced during any election, is the tendency to vote straight down the ticket for one party or another. Voters look for the “R” or the “D” following a candidate’s name and let that guide their decision, essentially voting party over platform. Wyoming, having closed primaries, doesn’t give you much of a choice unless you switch parties.
When it comes to the general elections, looking at the platform is especially important. You will never find a candidate that you agree with 100 percent of the time on everything, but you can usually find a candidate that may have beliefs and goals similar to your own. The perfect candidate doesn’t exist and never will, so it is especially important not to discount someone because of the letter next to their name on the ballot.
Every election cycle, whether presidential or midterm, the Saratoga Sun runs a section for the primary and general elections that inform the readers of where candidates stand on important issues. Read up on the candidates, find out where they stand and make your choice accordingly. Reach out to them—especially your local candidates—and ask them the questions you would like answered.
Finally, remember that voting is the most important thing you can do to make a change—short of running for office yourself.
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