Seattle Press on Line - Louisiana Primary not the Best Model for Washington

Louisiana Primary not the Best Model for Washington

By State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles

May 17, 2001 -- Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down California's blanket primary, proposals for an alternative in our state have been subject to increasingly heated debate.

Nothing is as ideal as what we currently have with our blanket primary. However, if the legislature does not forward a bill to the governor to sign by May 22, a federal judge will decide what our primary election system will be.

Or, the Democratic and Republican parties may prevail in their lawsuit, resulting in a closed primary system with voter registration by party. According to the Attorney General, the federal judge may even decide that we can have no primary election this year. With this deadline for a final decision nipping at legislators' heels, only two options are still viable: the "Louisiana" primary, or the "Open Primary/Private Choice" primary.

The Louisiana approach is fairly simple. Everything about Washington's blanket primary would remain the same except for one thing: The top two vote getters, regardless of party affiliation, would advance to the general election.

The Open Primary/Private Choice would also look similar to our current system, but with these changes:

--Voters would mark a party affiliation on their ballot, with the option to select a "no- affiliation" category.

--Votes would be tabulated according to party (or no-party) affiliation.

--Parties would choose what votes to use in selecting their candidates. Parties could count only party-affiliated votes or they could use other votes as well. Ninety days prior to an election, parties announce how they will use primary votes in selecting party nominees for the general election. Their decisions will be outlined in the voters' pamphlet, party web sites and even on the ballot itself so that voters would know.

I support the Open Primary/Private Choice system, found in SB 6183. (See http://www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/billinfo/dspBillSummary.cfm?billnumber=6183.

The bill, with bipartisan support, came from SB 6091, which I introduced in February at the suggestion of one of my constituents, Pierre Sundborg, a long-time elections inspector.

Why do I support this bill? For starters, the Louisiana system does away with the partisan primary and replaces it with a preliminary election.

The open-private primary preserves the partisan primary while meeting the constitutional right of parties to select their own candidates.

Although the Louisiana system has been called the "people's choice," it actually limits choice in the general election. Under the Louisiana system, only two candidates run in the general election--and they could be from the same party. What kind of choice is that? Given that 71 percent of voters participate in the general election, compared with only 40 percent in primaries, the Louisiana primary severely curtails choice for far more people. The open primary/private choice also protects minor-party and independent candidates, who would never make it to the general election under the Louisiana system unless they're on a primary ballot with only one other candidate. Currently, minor-party or independent candidates need receive only one percent of all votes cast for a particular race to advance to the general election. This same rule applies in the open-private primary.

Some are asking, "If the parties get to choose what votes to use, wouldn't I be wasting my vote if I cross party lines?"

Not necessarily. The fact that unaffiliated voters' votes will be tabulated and reported will apply significant pressure on the major parties to accept the votes. It isn't likely that parties will want to spend the time between primary and general elections explaining why the more popular candidates didn't get the party nomination.

Even if major political parties were to choose not to use votes cast by unaffiliated voters, one could still argue that the participation of unaffiliated voters is meaningful. Case in point: In the 2000 presidential primary, none of the votes cast by Democrats--including those cast by party ballot--were used to select delegates to the national convention. Yet the reporting of election results, which were heavily in favor of Al Gore, effectively ended Bill Bradley's campaign. The fact is there are other factors that make unaffiliated voters' selections meaningful.

Clearly, the open primary/private choice primary is the better option--and it is far better than leaving the decision to a federal judge.

I hope my fellow legislators will agree by sending this proposal to the governor's desk soon. We have no time to lose.

Editor's Note: Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, represents the 36th District. She is chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee and also serves on the Education; Human Services & Corrections; and Ways & Means committees. E-mail her at: kohl_je@leg.wa.gov.

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