Today's primaries are an important part of the process of selecting representative government in South Carolina. While South Carolina's political party primaries come at the beginning of the summer when many people are on vacation, and few seats are contested, they still are important.

Turnout is expected to be light, but voters in essence are being asked about change and how much change they are willing to endure. The key, however, is to participate. The No. 1 reason to participate is: If a person doesn't vote, it equates to another vote for some candidate or referendum. A special City Council election in Rock Hill two years ago was determined by four challenged votes, which is to say that every vote counts.

Whether Democrat or Republican, an important decision will be made between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. today.

Both Democrats and Republicans will begin the process today of deciding who will be the next senator from South Carolina. Whoever it is will replace Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, a Democrat who will has represented the state for nearly four decades.

The Republican race features six candidates, including a former governor, a U.S. congressman, a former state district attorney, the mayor of Myrtle Beach, and a 17-year S.C. businesswoman who was born in Israel and raised in Italy. Many pundits think a runoff is almost a certainty, but it's hard to predict who will be in the runoff. The candidates are: David Beasley, Charlie Condon, Orly Benny Davis, Jim DeMint, Mark McBride and Thomas Ravenel.

The Democrat primary for U.S. Senate features the incumbent state superintendent of education, Inez Tenenbaum, who is a former teacher and lawyer, against Ben Frasier, a former police officer and aide to the late Rep. L. Mendel Rivers Sr.

Republicans in District 9 will select a candidate for the November ballot between incumbent W.R. "Skeet" Von Harten and challenger Tommy O'Brien, while Democrats in District 6 will select a candidate between incumbent William Ladson and challenger Gerald Dawson.

Stealth voting has been a problem in many primaries. It was raised as an issue recently in Greenville County. It has led many people to push for registration by party to prevent the practice. We'd like to think that by and large people are true to their party.

The most important thing today is that voters will decide who moves forward and who sits on the sideline. Take the opportunity to participate in one element of representative government.