Primary Primer

Tomorrow is Primary Day here in Vermont. If you haven't ever voted in a primary, or even if you have, here is a little primer on the process.

You will be given four ballots, one for each major party. (Democratic, Republican, Progressive, Liberty Union)

You can only vote on one.

The other three get thrown into a “secure garbage can.”

The one you voted on goes into the voting machine and is tabulated.

You need not tell anyone what ballot you are using. This waste of paper is to protect your privacy, so that, for example, no one has to know that you are one of the five people in the state taking the Liberty Union ballot.

Personally, I enjoy the nasty glares I get when asking for the Republican ballot, but those days are gone now.

If you are voting in the Republican Primary, I have a few words for you to consider.

Some people like to approach the primary in terms of who is more likely to win the general election. This served Republicans well back in 2004 when the Democrats used this strategy to select John Kerry as their presidential candidate.

Many people think that Martha Rainville and Rich Tarrant are more likely to win in the general election because of their so-called moderate positions.

Historically however, Republicans win when they stand up for conservative principles, not when they disappear into the mushy middle, positioning themselves as democrat-lite on issue after issue.

In this primary, we have a clear choice for US House and US Senate. Mark Shepard and Greg Parke are solid conservatives. They will be willing to stand up for those principles. I encourage you to consider voting for them tomorrow.