Primary voters will have to pick one party

By Andrew Garber
Seattle Times Olympia bureau

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The state Supreme Court yesterday upheld Gov. Gary Locke's controversial veto in April to implement the new election system. The court issued the order after hearing arguments yesterday and will release written opinions later.

Locke and the state's political parties were pleased. "What I was trying to do was protect the interests of the voters," Locke said. "At least we know that we have a definite election system that will be in place for the September primary."

Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt agreed. "The Supreme Court really had no choice but to make sure the citizens had a fair, equitable and stable election in the fall. Any other ruling would have disrupted the process and created havoc."

The Washington State Grange, which brought the case to the Supreme Court, vowed to fight back with an initiative on the November ballot that would put in place a much different primary.

For this year's Sept. 14 primary, however, the so-called Montana plan is in place.

It will be a dramatic change for most Washington voters. Under the state's old system, in place since the 1930s, people could vote for any candidate, regardless of party. That system, called a blanket primary, was tossed out by a federal court last year. The court ruled the system violated the political parties' First Amendment right to free association.

Under the new primary, voters no longer will be able to vote for both Republican and Democratic candidates. Each voter will have to choose one party and stick with it.

"I think there will be some percentage of voters who, when they realize that they have to choose one party's ballot or the other, will be angry," said Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance.

"There will be some voters who walk into the polling place and walk right back out, and some who throw out their absentee ballot. But what's driving all of this is the law and the Constitution."

Questions remain about how absentee ballots will be handled.
 
The state's major political parties are responsible for the demise of the old blanket primary. They challenged the system, and the courts ruled it was unconstitutional.

The state Legislature responded this year by adopting a "Top 2" primary, otherwise known as the Louisiana-style system, in which people may vote for any party's candidate and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election.

However, when the bill went to Locke for signing, the governor used his veto to delete references in the legislation to the Louisiana system and put in place the Montana primary, which the state parties prefer.

The Grange sued to overturn Locke's veto and put the Top 2 system in place. The Supreme Court heard arguments on the Grange case yesterday morning, and the justices frequently interrupted.

"It's obvious the Legislature wanted a Top 2 primary," Justice Richard Sanders said.

But Justice Bobbe Bridge said the point of a veto is to undo something the Legislature wanted.

"The governor isn't there as a potted palm to sign their legislation," but is permitted to exercise independent judgment, she said.

With unusual speed, the court made its decision before the day was over.

Its order, signed by Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, rejected the Grange's challenge to Locke's veto. The group had argued in part that the veto was unconstitutional because the primary system left by Locke's veto didn't match the title of the bill.

No vote was listed for the nine-judge court, but it was clear there was division. Alexander said he wrote for "a majority of the court."

The fight isn't over, Grange attorney James Johnson said. "We have an initiative that will qualify for the ballot," he said. He predicted Locke's veto would help the Grange measure, Initiative 872, which would create the Top 2 system.

Seattle Times staff reporter David Postman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Andrew Garber: 360-943-9882 or agarber@seattletimes.com