Sam Reed's primary plan: Voter's choice
Sunday, January 4, 2004 10:53 AM PST
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E-mail this articleSecretary of State Sam Reed last week urged Washington lawmakers to give voters an open primary similar to the popular blanket primary that it would replace. Reed proposed what he calls a "modified blanket primary" --- one very much like Louisiana's Cajun primary, which throws the candidates of all parties on one primary ballot and advances to top two vote-getters to the general election.
We support Reed's proposal. We believe Washington voters would support it, as well.
Voter acceptance is something the Legislature must take into account when choosing a new primary. Reed emphasized that point last week --- that and the need to choose a system that can withstand expected court challenges by the political parties.
Reed's office has done the research and concluded that this modified blanket primary would almost certainly pass constitutional muster. And there can be no doubt about its appeal to voters. So far as we can tell, the plan differs little from the blanket primary Washington voters have been using over the past 68 years.
Reed's top deputy, Steve Excell, says the proposal "is the closest to a blanket primary we can get." He suggested that voters would have a hard time seeing any substantive difference between the old and new primary systems.
Voters still wouldn't have to register by party. They'd receive a ballot listing candidates of all parties, and be able to jump back and forth between parties as they worked through the ballot. As with the Cajun primary, the top two vote-getters --- regardless of party affiliation --- would advance to the general election.
It's a simple, cost-effective system. Excell said it wouldn't cost any more to administer than the blanket primary and could be easily used by absentee voters.
Political party leaders, of course, can be expected to lobby hard for the more restrictive primary supported by the governor. They want a closed primary with only the party faithful having a voice in choosing candidates for the general election.
That highly partisan sentiment is not shared by the great majority of Washington voters. Opinion surveys have shown that upwards of 75 percent of voters want a primary that allows them to cross party lines at will. They want the blanket primary or one almost identical.
Reed's proposal amounts to the closest thing to a blanket primary. If legislators listen to the people, they'll adopt that plan.
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