In two months, Washingtonians will do something they haven't done since the mid-1930s -- vote from among just one party's candidates in the primary. The courts have thrown out Washington's "blanket primary," which allowed people to pick among Democrats, say, for one position and Republicans for another position.

In many counties -- although not in Spokane -- election officials have decided to use different-colored ballots for each of the three major parties.

But who gets what color? Maybe blue is a more popular color than green, and could confer a slight advantage among indecisive voters.

So the colors were chosen by lot, under the auspices of the Secretary of State's office, which oversees elections.

The results:

Democrats: red.
Libertarians: blue.
Republicans: green.

Minor-party candidates -- like the Greens -- automatically advance to the November ballot.

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