The Times endorses
Take back primary through I-872

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Washington voters should take back control of their state primary by approving Initiative 872.

Thank the state Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties for Washington's Sept. 14 primary, the first in 70 years where voters had to limit themselves to the choices of only one party. Nearly 80 percent of voters said they didn't like it, one election-day survey showed. The federal courts threw out Washington's popular blanket primary after the three parties successfully argued it violated their rights by letting non-party members select who would represent each party on the ballot.

But in Washington, a state where more than a third of voters identify themselves as independents, the blanket primary made for better representative government with more moderate candidates who appealed to a broad cross-section of voters. It was a hallmark of Washington's populist impulse.

With their litigation, the parties stole the right of citizens to vote for the best candidate for the job. Instead, voters must confine themselves to the best among one party's offerings.

So the answer is to remove party from consideration entirely.

Proposed by the Washington State Grange, I-872 would establish a primary election where the top two vote-getters in each race would advance to the general, regardless of their party affiliation.

Opponents argue that would be a disservice to voters because, conceivably, two Democrats might be the successful candidates in liberal urban districts while two Republicans might advance in conservative rural districts.

But, honestly, won't it be better to choose between two candidates with broader support rather than the extremes of the individual parties? Certainly, it would give moderates — and conservatives in liberal areas, and liberals in conservative areas — a better chance at some meaningful representation.

Initiatives should invite voter skepticism because they lack the vetting that goes with the legislative process. But this initiative has had that leavening. It reflects legislation approved by the state House and Senate last spring. Gov. Gary Locke, in vetoing a section of the bill, gave the primary to the parties.

Now the people should take it back. Vote for Initiative 872.