As Ballots Arrive in the Mail for California Primary, Don’t Get Done in by Junapathy

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Randy Bayne
The Bayne of Blog's California Notes

My sample ballot came in the mail the other day, and though I knew it would be light it was still a bit of a shock to see just how light. Couple this with a forum post I saw today and I feel like coining a new word — Junapathy.

On June 3, I will be responsible for two choices on my ballot. One on the two propositions, 98 and 99, and the other on an Assembly race. The other two items, a Senate seat and a County Supervisor, have a single candidate running, leaving no choice to make. It’s more like a ratification. Until I received my sample ballot, I didn’t even know there was anyone running for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Senate District. For the record, his name is Anselmo Chavez.

Hopefully, the AD-10 seat, the only office I actually get to cast more than a ratifying vote on, will spark some interest and drive turnout. Alyson Huber and Jim Cook are running on the Democratic side. Three Republicans are vying for their party’s nomination. It could be fun. Registration numbers in AD-10 are trending heavily Democratic as the gap now stands at 2.25% Reeps over Dems, and closing. In January it was 3.01%, and two years ago it was somewhere around 5%.

So, what got me started on this? Here’s what I read in the aforementioned forum:
Since most of these are just primaries I really only care to learn about the propositions.

The statement interest me, but it doesn’t surprise me. We can expect a low voter turnout across much of the state due to lack of challenges among the candidates. The two propositions, 98 and 99, will have some draw, but I don’t think even they interest people enough to drive any but the hard core to the polls. Not that they are not important, but they were put on a lackluster primary ballot for a reason, and it wasn’t to drive turnout.

The sad thing is, the person who wrote the statement is expressing what a lot of voters are thinking. This election could give apathy a whole new meaning, hence my new word Junapathy. The problem with this kind of apathy is that there are important issues, local issues, on ballots across the state, and because we don’t have a top ticket, big time, mega primary, epic election brewing, these “down ticket” races will suffer.