EDITORIAL: Vote like your country depended on it

The time has arrived for Montanans to stop talking and take action — in other words, it’s time to vote.

The official date of the primary election in Montana is June 7, but early voting started last week, and we strongly encourage all citizens to participate.

Not registered? Doesn’t matter. In Montana, you can register right up until election day. But we also encourage everyone to be responsible and not wait until the last minute. There is no point in putting additional stress on an already complex system of registration and voting.

Now, as for the substance of the election, the Inter Lake as always will trust the voters to make their own decisions. You’ve had plenty of opportunity to get to know the candidates by now, and if not, you still have three weeks to get answers to your questions. The Inter Lake provides extensive coverage of politics, especially locally, but don’t depend on a newspaper or anyone else to tell you how to vote; only you know what issues and positions matter most to you.

Of course, Montana holds open primary elections to decide the candidates who will advance to the general election to represent their individual parties. It’s a peculiar system, which potentially allows Democrats to select Republican nominees and vice versa, but it puts even more responsibility on each individual voter. You can vote in either the Democratic primary or the Republican primary, but not both, so that’s your first crucial decision.

Next up, you will be expected to make individual decisions about each race, starting with president and working your way down to your party’s precinct man and precinct woman.

The presidential battle remains relevant in Montana, even though we vote with the last round of states to weigh in before the summer conventions. Of course, Donald Trump is already the presumptive nominee, but he remains in need of delegates to give him the official majority, and some voters may want to cast a protest vote against the outspoken billionaire. On the Democratic side, it’s even more exciting as Bernie Sanders wages his unlikely crusade to wrest the nomination from Hillary Clinton.

Flathead County has an important primary battle for county commissioner, as incumbent Pam Holmquist faces a challenge by fairgrounds maintenance supervisor Tim Harmon in the Republican primary. The winner will face Democrat Eileen Lowery in the November election.

In addition, there are several contested races for legislative seats. Judging by letters to the editor and campaign expenditures, the one that has the most attention is the GOP race in Senate District 3. House Majority Leader Keith Regier is squaring off against Whitefish businessman Don Kaltschmidt in a rare primary battle between two well-known candidates.

Look for coverage of this and all the contested races in the Daily Inter Lake over the next few weeks, starting with the county commissioner race in today’s paper.

Bottom line: Educate yourself and vote.