It’s primary day: Nebraska, West Virginia

Al Jazeera America will be writing a lot about the 2014 election cycle— the issues at hand and the players that may or may not change things — and here’s one way you can get involved: vote.

Today is primary day in Nebraska and West Virginia, with open contests for the U.S. Senate in both states, and every House district and many state and local offices up for grabs.

In Nebraska, polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Central time zone; from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Mountain time zone.

In West Virginia, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (The entire state is in the Eastern time zone.)

This is the first statewide election in West Virginia since a massive spill of a coal-processing chemical poisoned the water supply for 300,000 residents in and around the state capital of Charleston. Has this dampened state pols’ enthusiasm for Big Coal? Apparently not so much.

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Any views expressed on The Scrutineer are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera America's editorial policy.