Some see new primary rules as "loss of freedom"

By Susan Gilmore
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Had he been allowed to, Haave would have picked Democrat Christine Gregoire for governor.

"I really don't care for the way it is," Haave said. "I want to be able to vote for the individual. It seems to be taking away the choices we had."

Haave's distaste for Washington's new primary — in which voters had to choose from within one party in partisan races — was common across the state. Previously, voters were not forced to choose a party and could vote for any candidate.

Turnout yesterday was low, with some choosing not to vote because of the new rules. Others, like Francis Jensen of La Conner in Skagit County, did vote but bypassed the partisan races altogether and voted only for the nonpartisan ones.

"I vote for the person, not the party," said Jensen, who said it was a hard decision to skip the party races, but she wanted to register a protest vote.

Billie Smith of Lake Stevens picked a Democratic ballot. But she said she likely would have voted for Republican Dino Rossi in the governor's race had she had the chance.

"I don't think it's fair," Smith said. "They say it's a free country so we should have the freedom to vote," she said, adding that she considered not voting because of the primary, "but if you don't vote you can't complain."

An initiative on the ballot in November would alter the primary-election process yet again, with open voting and the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advancing to the general-election ballot. Many voters interviewed said they would support that change.

Most voters said they knew about the new primary rules when they filled out their absentee ballots or went to the polls, and most said they found the new system easy to understand. They also said they were confident that the party they chose will remain private.

But that doesn't mean they liked it.
 
"I don't understand the change," said Jim Clemetson of Richland. "It seems like it was thrown at us without any options."

But some voters said they didn't have a problem picking a party for the ballot. Diane Michnick formerly lived in Wyoming and was used to having to pick a party.

"I've always favored the idea of voting your party. That's what I grew up with," she said. "Let the party pick their strongest candidate. I won't have any problem crossing over in the general election."

Kate Stone, a caterer in Friday Harbor, said the ballot didn't bother her because her candidates, members of the Green Party, weren't on the ballot and will only be on the general election one.

What did bother her, though, was the waste of paper, picking one ballot and throwing three away.