Primary election: Voter hostility might stem from shame

Re: “Primary ballot brings out worst in Pierce County voters,” (TNT, Matt Driscoll column, 3/4).

I read with dismay about how staff in the Pierce County Auditor’s Office are being harassed with angry phone calls from voters who do not want to declare their party affiliation on the March 10 ballot.

These public employees are not to blame, as they had no role in deciding that party affiliation would be required on the ballots. They don’t deserve to be the targets of such hostility.

Perhaps I should not be surprised that most of these angry voters identified as Republicans, who I expect might feel a sense of shame or embarrassment about supporting the sole Republican presidential candidate — Donald J. Trump— on their ballot.

I’d like to suggest that they have a far less embarrassing option: They could vote for one of the candidates running to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.

This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Primary election: Voter hostility might stem from shame."