Benson: You, Too, Can Vote Tuesday, June 4

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on June 3, 2024
- 9:48 pm

By JODY BENSON
Los Alamos

People ignore the Primaries because they believe that there aren’t candidates with any opposition so why bother. Or maybe they didn’t get around to registering. Or they registered Declined to State and in NM, because we have “closed primaries” you must be a registered Republican or Democrat to be able to vote. Or hey (and this seems pretty popular)—who cares.

Let’s start with the first excuse. If you are registered Democrat or Republican it’s true that, except the Democrat District attorney, all candidates in the major parties are uncontested locally; however, nationally, both Republican and Democrat have choices for the Office of President, with four for Republicans and three for Democrats. The Libertarian Party has a contested race for House District 43, and two choices for President.

Second: You didn’t get around to registering? NM has Same Day Registration. Bring a photo ID to the polls and you can register on the spot. Prior to registering, however, study the League of Women Voters Voter Guide along with all the sample ballots so you know which party you want to register for. In the General Election you can vote for any candidate.

Third: If you are registered, but as a Declined to State or in a party without candidates on the ballot (i.e., Reform, Socialist, Natural Law, Constitution, Green, or Independent), you can bring a photo ID to the polls and same-day register for a party that has a ballot, i.e., Libertarian, Republican, Democrat. After the election, you can return to your previous status.

Fourth: Who cares. Well. Who cares. We won’t bring up discussions of the rise of totalitarianism, the wane of democracies worldwide, wars ongoing and wars looming, natural disasters, critical issues that need to be addressed by citizen-elected governments rather than entities like corporations or criminal gangs supporting authoritarians—we won’t talk about that. You ask, “Who Cares”. Okay. Me. I care. If you won’t do it for your spouse, kids, parents, classmates, coworkers, friends, neighbors, veterans, enlisted personnel, the nation, history, or world stability, you can do it for me. I am a who who cares that you have a voice. So yeah. Use your voice. Vote. Thanks.

For information about the process of voting, please go to https://my.lwv.org/new-mexico/los-alamos/voting-elections