New style of ballot awaits state voters

By Susan Gilmore
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Another voter told election officials, "I vote my brain and conscience, not party affiliation."

There's no question that many voters are angry about the new primary system, said Dean Logan, director of King County Elections. But he nevertheless expects a typical number of voters will cast ballots today.

Secretary of State Sam Reed has said statewide turnout would be down about 10 percent, but Logan disagrees. Logan is forecasting a 40 percent turnout, consistent with turnout in previous presidential-election-year primaries.

"As a result of the heightened political climate in the country and King County Elections' aggressive voter-outreach campaign, we expect the number of new voters will balance the impact of voters who choose not to vote because of the new primary law," Logan said.

He said King County has registered 82,000 new voters since January, a 47 percent increase from the number of new voters who signed up four years ago.

But Logan acknowledged some voters will sit out the election to protest the new primary.

When the courts threw out the state's 70-year-old blanket primary - in which voters could cross party lines on their ballots - Gov. Gary Locke signed a bill creating a new primary in which voters must vote partisan ballots.

In King County, voters must check Democratic, Republican or Libertarian boxes at the top of the ballot to be able to choose partisan candidates and can only pick candidates of the party they mark.

At the polls at Hamilton Middle School in Wallingford this morning, voters expressed mixed emotions about the way the ballots were arranged, while others maintained that they felt muted by the new primary system.

"It was not difficult," said Larry Sommers, 51. "They had different colors for different parties. That made it clear on the ballot. With all the hype, I expected it to be more confusing than it was. People made a big deal out of it for no particular reason."
 
Voter Mark Webb, 39, said he felt the new system is undemocratic. "I should be able to voite for whoever I want," he said as he left the polling place. "It doesn't matter what party I am with."

In Bellevue, Stafford Jones, 69, said he nearly boycotted the primary vote because of the changes. But he ended up casting his ballot at the Community Church in Issaquah because he figured some of his favorite candidates, including state Sen. Dino Rossi, a Republican running for governor, needed his vote. "I had to soften my position (on the primary system)," Jones said.

At St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Bellevue, Mary Germeau said she didn't understand the fuss. "I can't imagine where people who are having trouble with it went to school," she said.

Similar mixed sentiments were echoed in Snohomish County.

Toni Kifer, 35, went to the polls at Frank Wagner Middle School in Monroe for the first time in her life, because a learning disability had kept her from voting before. "I wanted to vote because we're in the middle of a war," Kifer said. "I received a mail-in ballot, but I was very confused by it. I came into the voting center today because I needed help. They were able to help me fill out the mail-in ballot."

At Hillcrest Baptist Church in Sultan, voter Aaron McCann left the poll disgusted by his inability to cross party lines. "I used to be able to vote full spectrum," he said. "For 55 years, I've virtually voted Republican and did today, but there were Democrats I would have liked to have voted for. There are good candidates from both parties."

Concerned that voters either won't understand the new primary rules or will flout them to protest the new primary, Logan asked election workers last weekend to examine 700 absentee ballots received from the 5th, 46th and 47th legislative districts.

Of those, 85 percent selected a party. Fourteen percent did not. While many of those 14 percent voted in only the nonpartisan races — permitted for those who don't choose a party — 11 percent of those not selecting a party still tried to vote in a partisan race. Logan said many of those voters likely did it as a protest.

Frank Baker of Federal Way tucked his ballot into an envelope, put on a stamp and mailed it in. Blank.

"I sent it back empty," he said. "If I can't vote for who I want to vote for I wanted to let them know I didn't care for it," Baker said. "I vote all the time. But this time, no, no."

Logan expects 10 to 12 percent of the ballots will be returned with no party preference marked. He expects few ballots will be totally tossed out, because even those that don't follow the party guidelines will still be counted for nonpartisan races.

He also said the number of absentee ballots is coming in higher than expected; as of Friday, 27 percent of the 553,000 absentee ballots issued by the county had been returned.

Polls will stay open until 8 tonight.

Logan estimated he has received about 300 messages so far with the absentee ballots, most opposing the new primary system.

But one voter scribbled across his ballot that it was the worst-tasting envelope adhesive he'd ever licked.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com. Seattle Times reporters Tan Vinh, Christopher Schwarzen, Lornet Turnbull, Kelly Kearsley and Sherry Grindeland contributed to this report.