Today is primary election day, when Republicans and Democrats in Pennsylvania go to the polls to nominate candidates for the fall campaign. Sure, it's cool and damp, but the reasons to get out and vote are as plentiful as azalea blossoms. Here are but a few.

Vote to protest the pay raise. The 16 percent to 34 percent increase was approved without hearings or debate, came on top of a decade of annual cost-of-living raises for legislators and was paid out through "unvouchered expenses" to get around the constitutional ban on raising pay in midterm. For thwarting the democratic process, many incumbents deserve to go.

Vote to elect reformers. Some of them are incumbents who spurned the pay raise and for years have sought better government, like a lobbyist disclosure law, campaign finance reform and a smaller Legislature. Some are energetic challengers who want to replace fossilized politicians.

Vote to test the new voting machines. In Allegheny and other counties, voters will be using a modern generation of electronic units that comply with federal law. No levers, no paper, no hanging chads. Just touch the screen and vote. Maybe some year it'll give cash back.

Vote to show that the people are watching. If you stay home, you give license to elected officials to disregard the public. Show up and you are a force to be reckoned with -- powerful and resourceful, with democracy on your side.