Letter: Purpose of primaries

I am a 77-year-old voter and retired member of the Palatine Council. I vote for the person and what they stand for rather than their political affiliation. I read the letter from Alan Cukla regarding the primary elections. He, like many others, misinterpret the intention of a "primary election."

The primary, first of all, is not and never was intended as an "election" to office. Rather its purpose was and still is intended as a "selection" by members of a particular organized party (Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Green, etc.) to "select" their choice for a candidate in an upcoming election and to put that name on the "election ballot."

I remember when I was young in order to vote in a primary, one needed to show the election judge a paid membership card of the party in order to draw the appropriate party ballot and take part in their selection in the primary. The bottom line is it is the members of the party that selects their candidate to represent them in the next "election."

When the actual election takes place, one can always secretly vote for the candidate of their choice regardless of their party (if any). There is no declaration of party affiliation during the election process.

Somewhere along the line, a few smart legislative members of a particular party had the rules changed so that they could nudge the election in their favor by crossing over to the opposing party and selecting a candidate of the opposing party that didn't have a chance of beating their candidate. (Reverse voting)

Smart, them Springfield politicians and how dumb of us not to recognize what they are doing.

Jack Wagner

Palatine