Third parties say top-two primary hurts their chances

In 2004, the Libertarian Party had more than three dozen candidates running in Washington's general election, in races ranging from governor to state Legislature.

This year only two candidates identified as Libertarians will appear on the Aug. 19 primary ballot, and only one is expected to make it to the general election.

Libertarian Party officials, and others from the Green Party and the Progressive Party, say the new top-two primary system essentially has eliminated their chances of getting to the general election and discouraged many potential candidates from running.

"Everyone who was so eager to take that extra step [and run for office] had the opinion that we had been removed from that equation," said Scott Lindsley, chair of the Washington State Libertarian Party.

Because only two candidates from each primary race will go on to the general election, most third-party candidates will be shut out by Republican and Democratic candidates. With the old system, third-party candidates usually faced little competition from members of their own party in the primary before going on to the general election.

Ruth Bennett, running as a Libertarian for state representative in the 37th Legislative District, says she will be on the general-election ballot only because she's in a two-person race with a Democratic incumbent.

"The challenge for minor parties is always to be relevant, and I-872 has made them irrelevant," Bennett said, referring to Initiative 872, which voters approved in 2004 to create the top-two primary system.

The Green Party has four candidates on the primary ballot; in 2004 it had five.

One Green Party candidate, Howard Pellett, is in a two-person race against a Democrat for state representative in the 40th Legislative District, and he will move on to the general election. The other three Green Party candidates most likely will not, which makes getting their message out harder.

"A lot fewer people pay attention to the primaries," said Jody Grage, a former chair of the Green Party of Washington State.

The Libertarian Party, along with state Democrats and Republicans, sued to block the top-two primary, but the U.S. Supreme Court in March upheld the system. The litigation, however, likely isn't over.

The parties argue that they have the right to pick which candidates can call themselves Republicans, Democrats or Libertarians, and that candidates should not be able to simply state which party they prefer.

"We should have the right to defend our name and the right to determine who our candidates are," Lindsley said.

Getting the word out

Third-party campaigns are now looking for different ways to be heard. Grage said the Green Party is relying on the voters guide, sent out to each voter by the Secretary of State, to get its message across.

"It's one way we can make use of the current system," Grage said.

Lindsley said his Libertarian party is trying to get its message out through news releases and newsletters so candidates don't have to spend time explaining what a Libertarian stands for.

This idea is "laying the foundation so when people are out there running for a spot, they don't have to do that groundwork," Lindsley said.

Sam Reed, the secretary of state and a supporter of the top-two primary system, said the new way of voting is better for third parties because "they can be treated like everyone else."

Reed said the new system improves ballot access, always a major issue for third parties, because candidates no longer need to collect signatures to be put on the ballot.

"All he or she has to do is walk in and file," Reed said.

With the top-two primary, candidates file without party endorsement, stating only a party preference, which appears on the ballot along with their name.

Most candidates stated a preference for familiar parties, such as the Democratic or Republican parties, but some listed their preference as the Cut Taxes GOP Party, or the more-creative Salmon Yoga Party.

Other candidates, such as gubernatorial hopeful Christopher Tudor, stated no party preference on the ballot.

Members of the Progressive, Green and Libertarian parties said they would prefer instant-runoff or "rank choice" voting to the top-two primary. That system would be more favorable to third parties because voters rank their top choices, instead of just voting for one candidate. Candidates with the lowest rankings are eliminated until only one remains.

Some support top-two

Not all third parties oppose the top-two primary. The Constitution Party has four people on the primary ballot — not bad for a party whose chairman, Glenn Freeman, said did not really exist before this election.

"We didn't have to have a separate convention to get signatures," said Freeman, who is running for state auditor. "We were treated like a Democrat or Republican would be."

Still, Freeman doesn't think any of those running under the Constitution Party will make it into the general election.

To get their voices heard, Reed said, third parties need to find candidates that voters can support in a general election.

"They are going to have to field viable candidates," he said. "They really need to look to community leaders that voters" can relate to.

Mark Greene, who is running for secretary of state under the Party of Commons, agrees with Reed about the top-two system.

"I think it [the top-two system] represents the best chance for a minor-party candidate to actually take office, rather than just present a message," said Greene, who founded the Party of Commons two years ago.

Despite last spring's court decision that allowed the new primary to go forward, both Lindsley and Bennett, who ran for governor in 2004, still hope to overturn the top-two system.

"It's going to be harder to change now than it was before," Bennett said. "We're going to have to wait and see what happens."

Jeff Raderstrong: 206-464-3301 or jraderstrong@seattletimes.com