House agrees to bump primary to August

OLYMPIA — The state's primary election will be a month earlier next year.

The state House on Wednesday voted 94-3 to move the primary from the third Tuesday in September to the third Tuesday in August starting in 2007. The legislation had cleared the Senate. Gov. Christine Gregoire has said she'll sign it.

Lawmakers have debated moving the primary for years, but the idea gained momentum after the tumultuous 2004 gubernatorial contest between Democrat Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi.

The Republican Party alleged, among other things, that election officials were too slow in mailing military absentee ballots. Moving the primary to a month earlier will give election workers more time to get out absentee and overseas ballots to voters for the general election.

"We had real problems of how tight that timetable was. There were only 19 days between the time the primary was certified and the time the ballots had to be in the mail," Secretary of State Sam Reed said.

Moving the date, he said, "is going to make the most difference in terms of having better elections in the state of Washington."

Sen. Dave Schmidt, R-Bothell, said another advantage is that it would give officials more time for a statewide recount in the event of a close primary vote.

Schmidt, who sponsored the bill on behalf of Reed, said, "That was a train wreck waiting to happen."

In addition to moving the primary date, the bill made several other changes, such as adjusting the time lawmakers can raise money for their campaigns.

Currently, lawmakers are prohibited from raising money from 30 days before a legislative session starts until 30 days after it ends. Under the change, they'll be allowed to start raising money the day after the session ends.

There were widespread calls for revamping the system after Gregoire won the gubernatorial election by 133 votes after two recounts and multiple lawsuits. It was the closest governor's race on record. The election was replete with lost ballots, mismatched signatures, and dead people and convicted felons casting ballots.

Last year, the Legislature made several other election changes, such as requiring voters to show identification at the polls and creating paper trails for electronic voting machines.

Andrew Garber: 360-943-9882 or agarber@seattletimes.com