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Don't vent anger at blue cards I got this blue postcard in the mail the other day from the county clerk. It was all about getting a Democratic ballot. I'm an independent. Why the heck is Jackson County paying to make me a Democrat? -- Jenifer W., Medford Well Jenifer, County Clerk Kathy Beckett doesn't care one way or another whether you are a Democrat, a Republican or a Martian (actually she would care if you were a Martian, because then you wouldn't really be able to register to vote in Jackson County, would you?) Beckett is just following the law and doing her job. And the law says that Democrats or Republicans can offer their ballots to non-affiliated voters like yourself in a primary election. Republicans did it one year, and this is the third time the Oregon Democratic Party has opened up its primary. Since our state now has mail-in ballots, the only way Beckett can find out which ballot to send you is to ask. (Unless, of course, she took it upon herself to call you while you were eating dinner like so many phone solicitors.) In the past, non-affiliated voters have gotten letters in the mail, Beckett said. This year, the county used electric blue postcards to save money and be more noticeable. And boy, have they gotten noticed. About 23,000 Jackson County voters, nearly a quarter of the registered voters in the county, are independents. A number of them have called the county and complained. "It seems like it angers more non-affiliated voters than makes them happy," Beckett said. And it doesn't make her life any easier, either. In addition to the cost of staff time, she expects this mailing to run $3,259. But the law's the law. So as long as you're an independent voter, and there's a party out there that wants you to participate in its primary, you'll be getting what some people consider the civic version of junk mail. (Send your questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; or by fax to (541) 776-4376; or by e-mail to: [email protected] . Please include your name, address and phone number for verification.) Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA