As a resident of Washington State, I love our voting system. We receive a ballot in the mail, have a couple of weeks to do homework, and can vote in our sweats with a glass of wine late in the evening, or with breakfast and coffee. I typically show my young daughter the ballot and talk to her about what I’m doing and why. It is quick and utterly painless and gives me the opportunity to be informed.
Unfortunately, as a democrat this primary season, it is also utterly worthless.
The instructions at the top of my mail-in ballot mock me:
Follow these steps for your vote to count.
If only it were that easy.
While my vote may be tallied, it won’t count for much of anything. The WA Democratic Party has already chosen to allocate its delegates by caucus, making this vote entirely meaningless. I’ll complete my ballot anyway, but only in protest of the archaic caucus system. If anyone is curious exactly how the WA Democratic Non-Primary came to be, there is an illuminating article in the Seattle Times.
I spent several hours of my life at the caucus this year, hours I will never get back. At least one of them, at the first caucus, was just spent waiting for the Precinct Committee Officer to show up. He was very late, and when he finally dragged his obviously hung-over self in to make an appearance, he seemed only slightly less confused than the party veterans. Our family survived this ordeal only because I had the foresight to pack numerous snacks for our daughter.
Weeks later I dragged myself as a delegate to the county caucus. When I say I dragged myself, I don’t exaggerate. I had just completed a fitness goal — the region’s annual 12k running event attended by nearly 50,000 people. I went directly from my post-run lunch to the county convention. I consider this timing another exhibit of poor planning by the party. I did not appreciate walking my tired legs from one end of the building to the other, asking everyone where I should go, and getting different answers every time.
Two hours into this second caucus, (this time attended solo without my husband and daughter) I found myself desperate for nourishment. The proceedings were dragging on at a snail’s pace as the organizers failed to make themselves heard in a gym of over 1000 people without the benefit of PA system. I reached into my bag and devoured the energy bar. I managed over 7 miles without needing such a boost, but the caucus pushed me over the edge.
They did eventually hand out some WalMart brand granola bars… and I refilled my water bottle in the bathroom. I voted on our delegates, but did not have the stamina to stay for additional voting on party rules. I FINALLY made it home just in time to throw together some dinner for my patient family. I can only imagine the countless people whose life circumstances would have made attending these events impossible.
If I were a Republican in my state (though the hour is late and the ballot is not representative of the last candidate left standing), I could have skipped the above 4 paragraphs and made a damn mark on the paper and sent it in. Better luck next presidential primary I guess.