Tuesday is primary day in Utah.
But residents aren't exactly enthusiastic about it.Ever since the Utah Legislature decided in 1993 to move the primary election day from the first Tuesday in September to the last Tuesday in June, voter interest has lagged.
There were many good reasons for the move. Primary campaigns were too long, party members just beat up on each other, harming the chances of the final nominee to win in November. No one wants to give money in a primary race, so the opposing party's candidate - if he doesn't have a primary - can be out fund raising all summer long while the other party's candidates struggle in obscurity.
In congressional races, all the big PAC money is gone come September, so a primary winner can't get that anyway.
But all those arguments are kind of inside baseball.
The bottom line is Utahns just aren't focused, aren't much interested in a June primary vote.
Deseret News pollster Dan Jones estimates a turnout of only 8 percent to 10 percent on Tuesday - pretty bad.
Gov. Mike Leavitt and Republicans in the House and Senate are planning a last-minute, get-out-the-vote public information drive. They're putting up $5,000 to buy some radio ads, hoping maybe some stations will kick in some free air time as well.
Some GOP conservatives, however, are wondering if the ad campaign could result in Democrats and independents getting excited and voting in Republican pri-maries.
Almost all the primaries Tuesday are in the Republican Party. There are no Democratic primaries in Utah, Salt Lake, Davis and Weber counties.
Utah has an open primary system. Any voter can, on primary day, vote. The ballot contains all races. The only restriction is a person can only vote in the primary of one party. If you vote for a Democrat in a county commission race, you can't go down the ballot and vote in a Republican Utah House primary race. If you do, the ballot is not counted.
The Leavitt/GOP get-out-the-vote campaign is an interesting twist to this year's primaries. Are they being good citizens, or will higher voter turnout help incumbents and moderates?
Conservative Republicans are making themselves known this election.
And there were a large number of GOP incumbents challenged within their party this year.
No one really knows the reasons for this. Some speculate that a statement made by leaders of the LDS Church in January - and read from the pulpit to local church congregations - may have something to do with it. The statement urged all church members to get involved politically - learn the issues, support good candidates or run themselves, and vote.
The Deseret News interviewed all the primary candidates in legislative races and in many county offices for a special pre-election section that ran Thursday.
A number of the candidates, when asked why they're running, mentioned the LDS Church's statement on getting involved in civic affairs.
But some moderate Republicans wonder quietly if maybe the church's statement had unintended consequences - challenges by candidates from the right of the political spectrum.
Outwardly, not many people are talking about what this could mean Tuesday. How can you oppose more people getting involved in a democracy? It's about as unAmerican as you can get.
But the political reality is something else.
Already some Salt Lake City Council members are eating crow over their early vote to hold a special library bond election in August instead of November. One council member said an August vote was best because fewer people may vote, but those that do know the issue and will vote yes to raise their own property taxes to build a new downtown main library.
The implication is all the voters who turn out in November may be too dumb to vote to raise their own taxes for a good cause. The council later switched the date and it now will be held in November at the general election - a wise move.
In any case, if you want the best candidates to be on the ballot in November, you'd better show up on Tuesday. Check with your local county clerk to see if there is a primary in your area.
And then go vote.