Utah County voters won't get the chance to decide who should be the next county attorney. Nor will they have a choice when it comes to who will represent House District 65 or who will be the county's next treasurer.

Those decisions were made at the Utah County Republican Convention on Saturday at Payson High School.

Under party rules, candidates can receive the party's nomination and avoid a primary run-off by garnering at least 60 percent of the delegate vote at the convention. If neither candidate receives 60 percent, then it goes to the voters.

In the race for county attorney, Jeff Buhman received 69 percent of the delegate votes, enough to overshadow incumbent Kay Bryson and challenger Curtis Larson for the party's nomination.

No other candidates are running for the office, so the November ballot is a mere formality. Buhman wins.

The same goes for House District 65, where Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville, defeated challengers Carl S. Nielson and Harold D. Mitchell. For treasurer, Robert Kirk defeated Kim Jackson at the convention, without having to stand for election by the people.

We are not criticizing the candidates. Rather, Utah County's problem is with the process that allowed them to get into office or retain office without a vote of the electorate.

From the party's perspective, the caucus/convention system is superior to a primary race because it is cheaper. Candidates can concentrate their money on the November election against those from another party. If there is no challenger from the Democrats (or other party) for a particular office -- a frequent occurrence in Utah County -- then the winner is crowned at the Republican convention.

Lots of money is saved.

Unfortunately, the public is cut out of the process. And that is saying something because most voters are not affiliated with a political party. They are independent.

But they ought to have some input. In the case of the attorney's race or House District 65, the "candidates" are virtually seated in office already. A primary race would have provided choices rather than the fait accompli delivered by delegates at the Republican convention.

In theory, convention delegates are supposed to represent their communities. In reality, the system is easy to manipulate. A candidate or special interest group can pack a neighborhood caucus meeting with its own supporters and choose the delegates who will make the final decisions at the convention.

People willing to manipulate the system in this way may not have the public's good in mind, and their candidate may not represent the wishes of the entire community.

Primary elections typically get low voter turnout. And it is usually the people with the strongest reasons for going to the polls who decide things. But at least in that case the slackers are slacking voluntarily and thus tacitly agree to abide by the results.

On the other hand, picking office holders at a convention denies the public a chance to weigh in at all. This, in turn, renders the general election pointless and further drives down voter participation.

Conventions are little better than the old smoke-filled rooms of yesteryear. It is time for all of Utah's political parties to scrap this antiquated system and give all voters a chance to decide who should represent them. Let there be primary elections.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A6.