Editorial: Oregon primary

In 41 days, a ballot from Douglas County will land in the mailboxes of registered voters. Those who mark their ballots and return them will be making crucial decisions in a heated primary election on the local and national level.

Voters will choose the candidates they want to see advance to the general election for two of our county commissioner seats, for sheriff, county clerk, state representative, U.S. Senate, and a few other statewide offices.

And Democrats will have the opportunity to choose a candidate for president — a rare opportunity because Oregon’s late primary has often meant the nomination was sealed before we cast our votes.

Knowing that Oregon’s delegates might actually make a difference in a presidential election is exciting.

County residents should view this as a chance to exercise a right — the right to vote — that is so important to this country, a right that women and African-Americans had to fight to receive. For those who may have believed their vote doesn’t count and therefore never registered, or who let their registration lapse after a recent move, it’s not too late. The voter registration deadline doesn’t arrive until April 29.

Along with the right to vote comes an unspoken understanding that voters will research the issues and candidates and make informed decisions.

In the past few days, Oregonians have had several opportunities to hear from presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama as he made stops in Portland, Salem, Eugene and Medford. Those who could not see him live were able to listen to his speeches on local television stations. Radio station KLCC will play his Eugene speech at noon today, and The Oregonian’s Web site offers an audio feed of his speech in Portland.

If you’re wondering what Obama stands for, you’ll find out by tuning in.

In his stump speech, Obama touted his interest in health care, clean energy investment, treating veterans with honor and respect, early childhood education programs and his goal of making college more affordable.

If Hillary Clinton and John McCain make it to Oregon you will no doubt hear them weigh in on such subjects and offer their own ideas.

These are campaign promises and we’ve all learned to be skeptical of them, but it’s important that we pay close attention to what our candidates are saying so we can make informed decisions on Election Day.

It’s our responsibility as voters to be educated before we mark our ballots.