Criticizing primary election voter turnout has become a rite of spring in Butler County, as elsewhere, and the past week proved to be no exception.

Only 27.6 percent of registered Republicans mustered the energy and commitment to participate in this function of citizenship. Even worse, only 16.7 percent of registered Democrats cast ballots — almost making a mockery of the voting privilege.

But not only did Democrats’ turnout warrant a jeer, so did the party’s efforts to recruit candidates for state House and Senate nominations.

As the fall-lineup chart in Wednesday’s Butler Eagle shows, the Democratic Party fielded no candidates for two state Senate seats in the newspaper’s coverage area, while there were no Democratic candidates for four of five state House districts.

The party cannot hope to gain ground with such a defeatist attitude.

Granted, the ballot was small, as it usually is when no local offices are up for grabs. But that’s not an excuse for registered voters to stay away from the polling places.

In the Nov. 6 general election, county voters will cast ballots for president, U.S. senator, U.S. House and for several state offices besides House and Senate seats. It’s important that voters pay attention to the issues raised after the various races start heating up in September.

But for now, it’s a Jeer all the way around.

CheerEarlier this month, in a surprising, but long overdue, move, shareholders of Citigroup rejected the giant Wall Street bank’s proposed $15 million pay package for its chief executive.A few days later, shareholders of FirstMerit Corp., a regional bank based in Akron, Ohio, rejected a $1 million pay increase for the CEO at a time when the bank’s stock price has fallen 20 percent.For too long, shareholders have been powerless to reject excessive executive pay packages. The Citigroup vote could be the beginning of a welcome trend curbing excessive CEO pay. More bank shareholder meetings will be held in the coming weeks at which the Citigroup and FirstMerit votes could offer inspiration to other shareholders bothered by multimillion-dollar pay packages.The Citigroup shareholder vote is not binding on the board of directors, but most experts believe the board will seriously consider the pay-package vote.Lingering anger over the Wall Street bailout and rich-beyond-reason executive pay levels have been given a voice by a section of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law that says major U.S. companies have to let shareholders have a “say on pay.”Compensation experts called the Citigroup vote “historic.”It’s about time that outrageous pay packages for top executives at public companies are brought under control.

CheerMany individuals involved in criminal activity would be less inclined to take the risk of getting in trouble with the law if they had a job.Butler County Judge William Shaffer deserves praise for delivering that message in a sentence he meted out on April 19 to a young marijuana-sales offender.Samuel G. Orbin, 22, of Buffalo Township had been arrested in June 2011 for selling marijuana to a police informant. He pleaded guilty to one felony count of drug delivery, and he also pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct in an unrelated case.Included under terms of his sentence, Orbin, in addition to logging 15 hours of community service and spending four years on probation, must submit seven job applications a week until he lands one.It’s to be hoped that the court will closely monitor Orbin’s job-seeking progress to ensure that his efforts remain on the right track — as well as his progress in court-ordered drug treatment.At age 22, Orbin would seem to have ample opportunity to live a productive life, rather than remain in the swamp of illegal-drug activity.With the get-a-job requirement included in Orbin’s sentence, Shaffer has made a strong point that other judges should use when appropriate.