lt’s been a short and quiet campaign. But Provo voters should be reminded that Tuesday’s primary election is mighty important, nevertheless. Some people may say: “lt’s not worth the effort to vote in a primary. l’ll wait and cast my ballot in the November 4 election.” With that kind of thinking, your favorite candidate might not even get on the ballot. In a field of nine candidates for city commissioner and four for city auditor, any candidate in the primary might be a threat to win if the total vote is small.
Usually when the vote is heavy you can depend on the result being representative of the majority view. It’s when the vote is small that a special interest group has its best chance to pull off a victory.
The Herald has tried to provide opportunity for the citizenry to acquaint themselves with views and biographies of the candidates. We published a candidacy story when each one made his announcement. On September 26 a presentation was made of views of the auditor candidates with some biographical material; the same for the commissioner candidates September 29. Also there have been ads by many of the candidates and other coverage.
Regretfully only about l25 citizens turned out Thursday night to meet the candidates and hear them at a public forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Each candidate gave a short talk followed by a question and answer session. The forum was well-publicized. We hope the sparse attendance will not be indicative of the turnout at the polls Tuesday.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the 74 voting districts. A list of the polling places for Tuesday’s primary appeared along with an election map in last Wednesday’s Herald, Page 32. It is hoped many saved the page, as urged. In any case, the list of voting places is published again in today’s Herald. If you don’t know in which district you reside, and don’t have a map, you can find out by calling the Provo City recorder’s office of the Utah County Clerk’s office.
The recorder’s office said Friday the vote by absentee ballot has been exceedingly light. This might be another tipoff of lagging interest in the Tuesday vote and another reminder for the citizenry to value the right to vote and go to the polls. Citizenship carries a responsibility as well as a privilege. Voting is one of your responsibilities. Don’t sidestep it. And may the best-qualified candidates win.