Seattle Press on Line - The Best Primary for Washington

My Two Cents

The Best Primary for Washington

By State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-36th

May 29, 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 the blanket primary we currently have, but we are compelled to come up with a new system that will pass constitutional muster.

Since the Legislature failed to meet the May 22 deadline for choosing a primary election system, a federal judge will likely decide what our new system will be. It's also possible that the Democratic and Republican parties will 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. Meanwhile, many legislators are hoping the judge will accept a compromise bill that we will work on during the Legislature's second special session, beginning June 4.

So far two options have received the most attention: the "Louisiana" primary, which passed the Senate, and the "Open Primary/Private Choice" primary, which passed the House. Neither was accepted by the full legislature.

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.

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 can be from the same party. What kind of choice is that? Given that only 40 percent of voters participate in primaries, compared with 71 percent in the general election, the Louisiana primary severely curtails choice.

The Open Primary/Private Choice model also looks similar to our blanket primary, but with these changes:

Voters mark a party affiliation on their ballot, with the option to select a "no affiliation" category.
Votes are tabulated according to party (or no-party) affiliation.
Parties would choose what votes to use in selecting their candidates.

Parties can count only party-affiliated votes or they can 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, on party web sites and even on the ballot itself so voters will be informed. The problem with this approach, though, is that votes of non-affiliated voters do not count unless the parties choose to accept them.

The Open/Private system also protects minor-party and independent candidates, who would rarely make it to the general election under the Louisiana system. Currently, minor-party and 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, while the Louisiana primary eliminates these candidates.

Since neither of these approaches was passed by both the House and Senate, some legislators are trying to develop a whole new primary model that the courts will accept, and that will also assure that every vote is counted in the primary. State Senators Dow Constantine (D-34th), Ken Jacobsen (D-46th), and Sid Snyder (D-19th) and I are working on an approach in which parties would have to accept all votes cast by affiliated voters, and could choose to accept votes cast by independents as well as those affiliated with other major parties.

The candidate with a plurality of the accepted votes becomes the party's nominee, though a major party candidate who isn't the party nominee also advances if they receive more total votes than any other candidate (as long as they have a minimum of 40 percent of all votes cast). That candidate would appear in the general election with no party affiliation. Minor party and independent candidates could qualify if they have more than one percent of all votes cast.

It's complicated and challenging, to say the least. The public, and most legislators, would rather keep our blanket primary the way it is, but we cannot. So while we're trying to work out a solution, we encourage our constituents to contribute their ideas and suggestions. We appreciate your input!

Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, represents the 36th District. She is chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, and serves on the Education, Human Services and Corrections and Ways and Means committees.

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