Our View: Here's your chance

If the predictions are right - and there's no reason to think they aren't - fewer than half the registered voters in Carson City will decide today's primary election.

It'll be the same story everywhere. A turnout of 45 percent or so will be considered fairly good.

It doesn't have to be that way, of course. There are plenty of reasons to take the time to go to the polls today.

In Carson City, what could be more important than casting a ballot in mayor and supervisor races?

The candidates have worked hard to make themselves known, to bring up legitimate issues and explore in some depth how they would shape Carson City's future.

In the contest for mayor, incumbent Ray Masayko and former supervisor Tom Tatro have track records that have been tested and criticized. Both Neil Weaver and Tom Keeton are providing alternatives for the voters in their own ways, so nobody can say there's no real choice in this election.

Similarly, in the supervisor contest Verne Horton, Frank Sharp and Richard Staub offer skills and backgrounds diverse enough that most voters should be able to find a candidate that appeals to them.

Some residents may be waiting for the general election in November, believing the primary is just a warmup for the real thing. But that's not true.

For one thing, voters today will at least narrow the field to two candidates. If your favorite isn't in it, then the choice has already been made. For that matter, if a candidate manages to collect more than 50 percent of the vote today, there will be no runoff on Nov. 7. It's over.

With early voting, Nevada's county clerks have given voters no excuse for not making it to the polls. Local government - the government that governs best - is being decided today.

Do your part.