Attention Asheville May 6 Democratic Primary Voters: some local Dems are posting info to help us all shake out a vote in the upcoming primary. That ballot is gigantic. My own personal tip/trick? I print a sample ballot and fill it out, bringing it with me to the polls as a cheat sheet.

First, local journalist/county commission candidate Cecil Bothwell has gathered a list of candidates endorsed by “generally progressive groups in the county and state.”

Second, local political uberblogger and generally principled and intelligent liberal activist Gordon Smith has posted his own voting choices at his group blog, Scrutiny Hooligans. My own choices match his almost exactly, one exception being David Young (no way — I definitely prefer Cowell). Scroll down the entry to read comments from local people including former city council member Bryan Freeborn.

Here’s my own list so far:

President - Barack Obama
Senate - Jim Neal
Governor - Bev Perdue
Lt. Governor - Dan Besse
Auditor - Beth Wood
Commissioner of Insurance - Wayne Goodwin
Commissioner of Labor - Robin Anderson
Superintendent - June St. Clair Atkinson
Treasurer - Janet Cowell
County Commissioner - Holly Jones, Cecil Bothwell (Keith Thomson, K. Ray Bailey) *
Appeals Court Judge - James A. Wynn
Appeals Court Judge - Kristin Ruth

* I am casting only two of my allotted four county commissioner votes in order to help my challenger candidate of choice, Cecil Bothwell, have a better chance of beating out the competition from the other challengers. The candidates in parentheses are the ones for whom I would also vote if I were not voting strategically and using all four of my allotted county commission votes.

BTW, in no way do I endorse voting for someone because someone “told” you to in a blog. What I do strongly endorse is public political discourse of the kind you see in Gordon’s comments, where smart people who want to do more than just make a mark on a ballot share information to make the most educated choice.

Voting is our single most important right, because without it none of the others are secure. As with so many of our rights, exercising this one isn’t easy. I’ve heard people say, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t know anything about the candidates or the issues. You still need to get out to the polls.” I disagree. If you don’t know why you’re choosing a specific person or position, all you’re doing is showing up and making a random mark. That’s not voting.

- Cheryl Dietrich