On Wednesday morning, Krist Novoselic, the 44-year-old former bassist for the wildly popular Seattle rock band Nirvana, stepped into his old Volkwagen Beetle and rumbled up a rural highway to Cathlamet, where he filed to run for the office of Wahkiakum County Clerk.

Novoselic, who lives in a secluded farmhouse near Grays River, said he has registered to run as a member of the “Grange Party.”

The trick is, there is no Grange Party, and Novoselic said he has no interest in serving as the county’s clerk. He’ll vote this fall for his competitor, Kay M. Holland, he said.

By filing to run for public office, Novoselic said he’s trying bring attention to what he sees as a flaw in the state’s so-called “top-two” primary system, which was approved by voters in 2004 and advances the two primary candidates with the most votes to the general election, regardless of their party affiliation. The system allows candidates to declare their own party on the ballot, regardless of whether they’re truly Republicans, Democrats or some other made-up party.

The problem, Novoselic said, is that people use the parties listed on the ballot as a guide for how to vote. Some voters will see “Grange party” next to Novoselic’s name and simply vote for him because, like him, they are members of the local grange.

“So I’m actually using the grange to promote my candidacy when I really shouldn’t be,” he said. “It’s complicated. It confuses voters and it disenfranchises voters. And we should think about a settlement that speaks to the needs and values of Washington voters.”

For more on this story, see Friday's edition of The Daily News.