Election Day

Nevada's Republican U.S. Senate primary will be one of the big national storylines in today's elections. The winner of the Sharron Angle-Danny Tarkanian-Sue Lowden horse race gets Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November's general election.

Additionally, Gov. Jim Gibbons is expected to have the words "lame duck" officially attached to his title by nightfall. Former federal judge and Attorney General Brian Sandoval is the favorite in the Republican primary for governor. A victory by Mr. Sandoval wouldn't be attributable to the country's anti-incumbent climate, however. Gov. Gibbons' personal shortcomings are to blame for Mr. Sandoval entering the race in the first place.

But 11 other states are casting ballots today. Two more members of Congress could join the growing list of Washington politicians already rejected by voters this year.

In what will be the country's most-watched race tonight, Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln faces Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in a runoff for her seat's Democratic nomination. If Sen. Lincoln loses today, as some polls suggest she will, she'll become the third senator sidelined by the electorate before November. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, previously were ditched by their respective parties.

And in South Carolina, GOP Rep. Bob Inglis, a six-term incumbent, could be knocked out over his 2008 vote to bail out the banking industry.

Meanwhile, in California, Republicans will choose nominees for governor and the U.S. Senate. A pair of women who are former business executives -- Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina -- are poised to advance in those respective races.

Nevada's third different primary election date in six years has not ignited voter excitement. As usual, total turnout is expected to be embarrassingly low. Early voting ended Friday with about 15 percent of registered Nevada voters casting ballots, about 161,000 total. Election officials expect less than half of the total turnout to visit the polls today.

But if higher turnout leads to more uninformed votes, then lower turnout is preferable. An uninformed voter who votes for candidates without knowing anything about them cancels out the votes of citizens who take the time to learn what the candidates stand for.

If you vote today, first visit reviewjournal.com, look under the "Las Vegas Review-Journal Hot Topics" banner and click on the link to our primary election Voter Guide. Make your vote an informed one.