Not voting is for suckers

This isn't exactly news, and if you're reading Alaska Beat, you're probably the last person who should read this, but we would like to take the time to remind every registered Alaskan voter to take a trip to the polls today -- and to encourage his or her friends to do the same. According to the Alaska Division of Elections, statewide voter turnout for primary elections has only risen above 50 percent three times since 1974. In recent years, the turnout has hovered between 20 and 30 percent. That means over the last decade or more, between roughly 11 and 16 percent of Alaska has decided what candidates and issues the rest of the state can vote on in general elections. Don't like that? Go vote today. Alaska Beat is just hoping that this year's vote isn't like the one in 2000, when only 17.2 percent of Alaskans actually cared enough to vote in the primary.

If you or your friends have decided not to vote because you feel you don't know enough about the issues or candidates, we don't blame you or anything -- after all, a poorly informed vote might be worse than none -- but maybe exploring Alaska Dispatch's own 2010 primary election coverage will help you feel more comfortable participating. Here are some links leading straight to our coverage. The splash page for our Politics news section, which features analysis and profiles of major races and candidates, the main page of our politics blog, "Political Animal" which features quick news items, both original and aggregated from around the Web. And in case you missed it, Alaska's energy economy is a central issue in this election, so if you have the time, it might also be worth exploring the pages in our Energy news section.