By The Herald Editorial Board
After two raucous weeks of conventions, the Republican and Democratic parties have nominated their candidates for president, but there remains a long list of candidates for state and federal offices, the Legislature and precinct officers for voters to pare down by Tuesday for the Nov. 8 general election. And that’s not to mention a few ballot measures regarding levies and sales tax increases.
If you haven’t done so, consider this your reminder to dig out your ballot, mark it and get it in the mail or take it to a ballot dropbox by Tuesday.
You can’t say your choice is limited. The ballot lists 17 candidates for U.S. Senate, 11 each for governor and lieutenant governor, nine for the state schools superintendent and seven for commissioner of public lands, among other crowded races.
Fortunately, there are resources to help voters select candidates for each race.
A voters pamphlet was mailed to Snohomish County residents but also is available online at tinyurl.com/SnoCoVotersGuide2016. More election information, including where to find a ballot drop box, is avaiable at snohomishcountywa.gov/224/Elections-Voter-Registration.
And TVW, the Washington state equivalent to C-SPAN that has broadcast legislative sessions and provided other public affairs programming since the 1990s, has catalogued numerous candidate forums for state offices on its website at www.tvw.org/elections-2016/ and also offers its Video Voters Guide with three-minute statements from candidates for state office at www.tvw.org/video-voters-guide/.
With nine state offices with multiple candidates on the ballot, it was important for TVW to provide voters the forums and the voters guide, said Renee Radcliff Sinclair, TVW’s president and CEO. Radcliff Sinclair, who represented a Snohomish County legislative district from 1995 to 2001, joined the nonprofit broadcaster in 2015.
In addition to legislative coverage as well as broadcasts of oral arguments before the state Supreme Court, TVW also offers three regular programs produced by the channel: “Legislative Review,” “Inside Olympia” and “The Impact.” The channel also is working to develop a live morning news and interview show for broadcast in 2017, she said.
While informing current voters, TVW is working to develop future voters, too.
TVW is committed to education, Radcliff Sincair said. It offers its election coverage in the classroom and works with those who are old enough to register to vote and also encourages participation with the Secretary of State’s mock elections for students who aren’t eligible to vote.
Resources such as its Teach with TVW provide video-based lessons on aspects of state civics and government. And Capitol Classroom allows students and teachers to participate in the legislative process by drafting actual bills, lobbying on their behalf and following their progress in Olympia.
“Kids love real-world projects,” Radcliff Sinclair said, because they see the effect they can have. It’s an engaging and memorable way of teaching civics, she said.
And it’s a good reminder of the importance of why we vote.
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