VOTERS ON THE West Coast sometimes wonder, "What's the use?" when it comes to presidential elections.

If they vote late, say at 6 p.m. local time, they might listen to the radio as they drive to the polling station and hear that NBC or CBS or Fox has already projected one candidate or the other to be the winner.

So why bother to vote? Why not just turn around and go home rather than stand in a long line? I'm sure there are those who do just that.

Of course, projections aren't always accurate. Remember the famous headline that said Thomas Dewey defeated Harry Truman? Then there was the 2000 projection that said Al Gore had taken Florida and defeated George Bush.

Still, it has to be a bit discouraging to hear that the election is essentially over when you have yet to vote, but that's the way it is on the West Coast.

When it comes to live events, West Coasters also get shafted in other ways. Take NFL football.

We go to church on Sunday, stop by a hamburger joint for a quick lunch and still get home in time to change clothes and watch a 1 p.m. kickoff.

Has it ever occurred to you that 1 p.m. on the East Coast is 10 a.m. on the West Coast? Californians must often choose between going to church and watching a football game.

And as for those 8:30 prime-time Sunday and Monday night games, just remember that they start at 5:30 on the West Coast.

You see, when it comes to live events, "prime time" almost always refers to the East Coast because much of America's population is in the Eastern time zone.

The more viewers the higher the TV ratings and the more networks can charge advertisers. As usual, it all comes down to money.

Take the presidential debates, for example. They began at 9 p.m. Eastern time, which is 6 p.m. on the West Coast. That means that if the Santa Monica Freeway is jammed, some Californians might not have gotten home before the debates started.

Of course, I suppose they could just watch it on their smartphones as they drive home--and maybe crash and tie up the freeway even more.