The primary is going and if you're outside of Pierce, you have your ballot already. The secretary of state is predicting only 38% turnout. If you have not returned this yet, I want to make a plea that at a minimum you cast a primary vote for Patty Murray in the senate and return your ballot. This is not just about Patty Murray...
There is going to be an issue in November that I feel strongly about. That would be I-1098, an initiative that will for the first time, institute income tax in Washington state on individual personal income above 250,000. In exchange, the state eliminates a corporate income tax (known as the B&O) for 80% of businesses. This initiative is being championed by none other than Bill Gates, Sr. However it's going to be a really tough one to fish for votes on in my area because income tax is a taboo and I'm in a red county full of tax evaders. I'm sure that other activists have their own issues that they care about and want to focus on too!
So maybe you don't vote in the primary because Murray is a sure thing. I give you that. But think about what happens if her win in the primary is sufficiently large? Likely it will be Dino Rossi in the second spot. If that's the case, he's going to have a harder time raising cash if he can't be competitive in the primary. If he can't raise cash for the campaign, Murray's seat becomes more and more safe.
If that happens, in November we can all spend our resources on what we care about - rather than making sure a sleazeball like Dino Rossi doesn't win himself an upset victory in a blue state.
So if you have your ballot, and it's sitting there, please consider the ramifications of not voting.
UPDATE: If you are eligible to vote but are not registered you can still register in person up to August 9 - that's tomorrow. Also ballots must be postmarked by August 17th!