Judges reject state’s top two primary

SEATTLE – A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to reinstate Washington’s “top two” primary system, ruling Tuesday that it infringes on the rights of political parties to choose their own nominees.

The Washington State Grange, which pushed the top two system, responded by saying it would campaign to have all party designations removed from primary and general election ballots in the state.

The top two primary was ruled unconstitutional last summer – before it was ever used – by U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly. The Grange and the state attorney general’s office asked the appeals judges to overturn that decision.

Voters approved the top two primary as Initiative 872 in 2004, a year after the state’s nearly 70-year-old “blanket primary” was struck down. Like the blanket primary, the top two system allowed voters to pick their favorite candidates for each office, regardless of party. But instead of the top Republican, Democratic and third-party candidates advancing, the top two vote-getters advance – even if they’re both Republicans or both Democrats.

The trouble with the system is that it allows candidates to list their “party preference” on the ballot, without any input from the Republicans, Democrats or others about whether they want to be associated with those candidates, the appeals court said.

The U.S. Supreme Court has suggested that the only way to have a primary in which voters can pick any candidate, regardless of party, is to make all offices nonpartisan – in other words, don’t list party affiliations on the ballot, Fisher said. The Grange said it would ask the Legislature or the voters to do just that.

Dwight Pelz, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said depriving voters of such crucial information as party affiliation was too drastic.

“The cure is far worse than the disease,” he said. “A partisan primary is easy to navigate, and it allows political parties to play a role in choosing who represents us in government.”

State Republican Party Chairwoman Diane Tebelius agreed, and suggested that “the Grange needs to work with the parties to come up with a solution acceptable to everybody, instead of wasting money” on court cases and appeals.

Assistant Attorney General Jeff Even said state lawyers will consult with Secretary of State Sam Reed before deciding whether to appeal.