We are now exactly three weeks from Massachusetts primary day. "Wait a minute Bernstein you moron," I hear you saying, "that would be a Thursday, and elections are on Tuesdays." Well, the primary election this year is in fact on Thursday, September 6. Who's the moron now?
Poll workers should consider bringing plenty of reading material to get them through a slow day. Not only is the primary on a day of the week when nobody expects it, it's also during Labor Day Week, in back-to-school chaos, on the day when anybody with marginal political interest will be eager to get home to see Elizabeth Warren and President Obama speak at the Democratic National Convention.
Plus, there is no competition on either side of the US Senate race to draw people out, and very few high-profile primaries anywhere in the state (some good, interesting ones, but not high-profile ones). That's particularly true in Boston, which means that the Hub-centric Massachusetts news media -- myself included -- has not been moved to divert our gaze from the holy Bay State political trinity of Scott Brown, Elizabeth Warren, and Mitt Romney.
Speaking for myself, I'm afraid that's unlikely to change an awful lot over these next three weeks, two of which will be dominated by the national conventions.
I'd also like to note that candidates for state legislative seats have not yet had to disclose a single dime of their 2012 contributions or expenditures, thanks to the legislative prowess of state legislators who ensured that state legislative candidates like themselves don't have to disclose any of that during the formal legislative session of their re-election years.
The first campaign-finance report of the year, the pre-primary report covering January 1 through August 19, is due August 29, just a week before the primary -- and in this case, as it happens, on the day when the attention of Massachusetts news media will be riveted on the crowning of King Willard of the GOP.
Tomorrow is the deadline for registering to vote, to be eligible for the September 6 primary. Considering how few people are likely to vote that day, your participation should have considerable weight, so go do it.
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