It’s not a very full ballot and there’s not a lot of controversy among the candidates for office in the primary election in Central Kitsap and Bremerton. But that’s no excuse for not voting.

The state’s primary election is Aug. 6, and despite the fact that there are only a few races where there’s need for a primary, ballots have been sent out.

As of July 19, the Kitsap County Auditor’s Office had mailed ballots to all registered voters in Kitsap County.

Those ballots need to be returned to the auditor’s office by Aug. 6. Ballots can be mailed, as long as they are postmarked by Aug. 6. Or they can be dropped off at ballot collection sites, all of which are listed on the county auditor’s website at www.kitsapgov.com/aud/.

Among the races in this primary election are a fire district commissioner, a water commissioner and several city council seats in various cities throughout the county.

Bremerton has an interesting three-way race in Council District 3 for a seat on the Bremerton City Council. On the ballot in that race are Michael Strube, Adam C. Brockus and Jerry McDonald.

Also on this ballot is the State Senator seat in Legislative District 26. That’s the race between Nathan Schlicher and Jan Angel to fill a one-year unexpired term.

The seat was vacated by Derek Kilmer when he was elected to the U.S. Congress. It affects some voters in the Bremerton area.

It would be easy to think that this primary doesn’t really count for much. It would be easy to conclude that it’s just a run-off to the real election that takes place Nov. 5.

But each candidate has decided that he or she wants to serve the public, be it on a fire or water district commission, or a more prominent job in the State Legislature.

Each candidate deserves our respect as voters. That’s why voters need to fill out their ballots and return them.

We can’t afford to write this off as a primary election that doesn’t matter.

If you have questions, go online and look at the sample ballot or call the auditor’s office at 360-337-7129. You can also try out the online ballot access at their website.

Voting is an important part of the Democratic process. Each of us should take our right and responsibility as a voter seriously.

Take time to vote this week and follow election results on Aug. 6 and 7 on our websites at www.centralkitsapreporter.com or www.bremertonpatriot.com.