The anti-incumbency movement that sprang up in reaction to state lawmakers' unconscionable pay-raise action last July is alive and well in some places in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, Butler County isn't one of them.

Based on last Tuesday's deadline for candidates to file nominating petitions, it is clear that any determination to challenge the status quo remains anemic here.

Both the Republican and Democratic parties of Butler County again have failed to ensure that there would be contests—lively or otherwise—for party nominations for most of the state legislative offices up for grabs. And, particularly, the Butler County Democratic Committee should be embarrassed that it continues to lack the strong will and drive to try to reverse the GOP's tight grip on most of the offices in question.

At this juncture, such an observation is not intended to reflect on the performance of any of the GOP incumbents. The observation is rooted merely in the premise that all candidates—and that includes incumbents—should face opposition in every election.

The voters are capable of judging incumbents' performance, but not having election choices kills any opportunity for effecting change, even if there is substantial unhappiness with the representation a lawmaker has provided.

It is to be assumed that if an incumbent realizes that he or she will face a challenge in the next election, that lawmaker will be more cautious and accountable in terms of how he or she votes on the issues.

Last year's pay-raise fiasco occurred because lawmakers felt comfortable, based on past elections, that 95 percent of them were virtually guaranteed to win re-election.

That might not be so this year, as a result of the pay-raise controversy and the way some lawmakers sought to receive the pay raise immediately, contrary to pay-raise stipulations contained in the state constitution.

But, again, it appears this county will have little or no impact on reducing the incumbency-retention rate, based on the fact that there is such limited interest in challenging those who currently hold the seats.

The lack of competition is one cause of light voter turnouts. Some voters see no reason to go to the polls on Election Day if they simply are there to go through the voting motions, having few actual choices to make.

At the height of the pay-raise brouhaha, it seemed this might be the year for ho-hum legislative elections to become a thing of the past. Barring some surprising development, that doesn't appear to be in the offing, at least not here.

There is nothing wrong with ongoing satisfaction with one's representation in the state capital. But that should not negate that, every two or four years, as each lawmaker's term of office dictates, all incumbents should have to answer for their actions because of a challenge by a political hopeful.

In the case of Butler County this year, as in the past, don't look for very much vigorous campaigning by the incumbents vying for new terms.

Instead of active campaigning, the incumbents will have the luxury of relishing how much their campaign war chest is growing, and the fact that they have little need to spend it.

Elections are supposed to be about making a choice, and political parties have the obligation to work in that direction.

While there might be grounds for more interest in this year's November election, with gubernatorial and U.S. Senate balloting taking center stage, May's party primaries will be yawners, and no doubt the voter turnout will very clearly reflect that fact.