It's Primary Day in the Kingdom!
All the excitement and fun of watching grass grow.
Most local races are non-partisan. You don't have to declare a party to run - you just have to have an up-to-date Church Card that states what church you attend. And that church is required by law to inform the Election Board what your Sunday attendance percentage is. If it's below 60%, then your candidacy is voided, and you are not allowed to run. The Election Board will keep whatever fees you were charged. It's not their fault you couldn't follow the rules.
There are only two parties on the ballot for partisan races. You have to vote in one or the other; you can't split your ticket in primary voting. That frustrates some people because they think the primary should be it - one and done. But the Kingdom wants to suggest at least the facade of democratic choice, at least at this point.
One of the two parties is the Republican Party. But, like the persistence of the Dixiecrats decades ago, it is mostly a choice made out of habit by some elderly people. Once a Republican, always a Republican. Still, they only get about 10 to 15% of the vote in Pierce County.
The main party, really the only viable party, is the Christain Kingdom Party, the CKP. It receives 85 to 90% of the vote. So if you win their primary, you've got a lock on winning your office. In the National Assembly, a body of 333, typically there are two or three dozen Republicans, mainly from Florida (old people - what are you gonna do?).
This is our third National Election. Even within the CKP, the number of contested primary races is getting fewer and fewer. Most people don't even want to argue anymore. What's the point?
We don't vote for President anymore. Instead, candidates are vetted through the National Council of Churches (NCC). Theoretically, they can qualify multiple candidates, but so far, they have only recommended one, and then that candidate is affirmed by the National Assembly. The most the public participates is on National Blessing Day, showing up for special services to offer their prayers and support for the new Father.
The one issue that seems to be motivating people this year is whether or not women should be included in the National Assembly. They are already excluded from the Presidency (not officially, but everyone understands that the NCC will not qualify a female candidate). There is a woman in the Vice Presidency, but her term ends soon, and the position may be eliminated, at least according to contemplated constitutional revisions.
Hardliners want to exclude women from elected political positions, citing biblical text encouraging the subjugation of women. Please understand. This is not my interpretation of the Bible - this is theirs. Every day that I wake up, I find it hard to believe what I live in. I tell Alison we should have gotten out when we could have. I'm just grateful that my three boys aren't in the Kingdom - Doug in what's left of the USA, and Greg and Benjamin in Pacifica.
Another issue that may be debated by the National Assembly is whether certain denominations should be certified in the Kingdom. These include Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and my own denomination, Episcopalians. This concerns me quite a bit. Without that certification, my life would be even more restricted than it is, including no longer having the right to vote.
So, that is why I'm voting for Tracy Holland for our National Assemblyperson (boy, I can't use that phrase out loud). She is slightly moderate, at least by CKP standards. She is in favor of women in the General Assembly and, as a Methodist, may be inclined not to reduce the number of sanctified denominations. At least, that's what I would hope.
I've got my church card, which has my photo ID and verification of church participation. That's all you need to vote. Forging a card to vote could result in a ten-year prison sentence. I'm not sure who's desperate enough to vote for the choices we have to think it is worth that kind of risk, so there is very little voter fraud. Just as there was little voter fraud BEFORE the Kingdom came.
When I hand the poll worker my card, she says, "You might want to consider changing churches if you want to keep voting."
Oh, yes. Things just keep getting better and better.
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