Primary a first for new ballots

For those still undecided on whether to vote in today’s primary election, here are two more reasons to do so:

It’s the first chance to vote in the state’s new “Get Four, Pick One” open primary.

It may also be the last.

The new system – brought on by court cases, legislative action and a governor’s partial veto – requires voters to pick from among four ballots before casting a vote. An initiative in the November general election could change that system again.

Unlike years past, voters can vote only for Libertarian, Republican or Democratic candidates in partisan races. Those who don’t want to pick a party can still cast a nonpartisan ballot, which has judicial races ranging from the state Supreme Court to local courts, plus the statewide superintendent of public instruction, and any local ballot measures or tax proposals. Those nonpartisan races are also on the partisan ballots, but may be on the back, so be sure to turn the ballot over.

Like Spokane County, most counties have separated each party’s candidates on individual ballots, although a few have managed to gather them all together on a single sheet under separate party headings. Absentee voters received their ballots about two weeks ago, and have until today to pick the one they want to cast, get it postmarked and in the mail.

Or they can take their absentee ballots to a polling station.

Those who vote the old-fashioned way, by going to their precinct polling station between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., will be given four ballots and instructed to put the three they don’t want into a receptacle, and then take the one they will vote to the booth or table and mark it. The marked ballots will then be deposited the same way as in past elections.

In Spokane County, that means feeding them into a scanner, which records the votes and retains the paper ballots in case any questions arise later.

For Republicans, the premier race in Eastern Washington may be the three-way battle for an open seat in the 5th Congressional District, where the choice is among state Sen. Larry Sheahan, state Rep. Cathy McMorris and Spokane attorney Shaun Cross.

Voters in the 6th, 7th and 9th Legislative Districts also have contested primaries for seats in those Republican strongholds. Rep. George Nethercutt has been ignoring his GOP challenger, former King County party official Reed Davis, in the U.S. Senate primary, and State Sen. Dino Rossi has only nominal opposition for the GOP nod for governor.

The key Democratic primaries are different. That party’s gubernatorial race features two “name” candidates, King County Executive Ron Sims and Attorney General Christine Gregoire, as well as four other low-profile challengers. Incumbent Sen. Patty Murray faces only token opposition for her nomination, and Spokane businessman Don Barbieri has the field to himself in the congressional race.

Libertarians have a contested primary in the governor’s race, facing a choice between Ruth Bennett, a semi-retired travel consultant, and Mike Nelson, a stock and real estate investor.

Although voters are restricted to a single party in the primary, they will be able to pick among all candidates that make it to the Nov. 2 general election. That ballot will include a statewide initiative that would throw out the new primary system, and replace it with a different process that has all candidates on a primary ballot and lets the top two advance, regardless of party.