In a weekend editorial, Opinion Editor Marty Trillhaase of the Lewiston Tribune comments:

Want to fix what ails Idaho politics?

Take power away from the political parties.

And hand it over to the voters.

That's the idea behind Washington's top two primary, which empowers the voters to decide which two candidates - Republicans, Democrats or independents - advance to general election in November.

And it's the inspiration behind a top two primary bill sponsored by Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise.

Washington's top two primary was a reaction to a court ruling invaliding its wide-open blanket primary - which allowed voters to skip across the ballot. They could vote in the GOP contest for governor and then flip over the Democratic contest for the Senate.

When Washington's party bosses prevailed in court, top two primary advocates took to the ballot with a successful initiative campaign.

Burgoyne's idea is a reaction to the state's GOP successfully expelling anyone from its primary who wasn't willing to affiliate as a Republican. More here.

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