Voting has Started. Are you ready?

This year’s elections are underway. Registered voters have till 8 p.m., November 7 to vote. New Washingtonians can register through October 30.

While voting is at the heart of the democratic process, heavy lifting precedes it.

Our local ballot is surprisingly long. My policy is to only vote for candidates who have earned my vote. My obligation is to find out where each candidate stands. If I don’t know the pertinent positions and the office’s demands, I am a sloppy citizen if I cast a vote anyway. Yet I am irresponsible if I don’t vote.

Our foreparents created agencies funded by taxes with citizen oversight. This year Port and Fire Protection District commissioners are on the ballot; elsewhere there are Dike Districts and Hospital Districts.

To review candidate profiles and positions, even more than looking things over, requires study. Being a citizen is hard work.

The county auditor has a voter’s pamphlet from our secretary of state’s office. The Skagit County League of Women Voters is a resource. Talking to neighbors and friends works. Calling candidates is an option. The results of a conversation might surprise both of you.

And if a candidate is running unopposed and doesn’t satisfy you, skip him or her. That’s a right you will have earned.