The Libertarians claim the upcoming Aug. 19 election is illegal. (See earlier post.) Democrats and Republicans also are unhappy.

But Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed says the state is on firm ground and is pushing ahead with election.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 8, 2008
Contact: David Ammons
Communications Director
(360) 902-4140
dammons@secstate.wa.gov

Washington’s Top 2 primary still on track

OLYMPIA – A strong and unambiguous Supreme Court ruling puts Washington’s new Top 2 Primary on firm legal footing, Secretary of State Sam Reed said Tuesday, flatly rejecting party attorneys’ view that the primary violates a federal court injunction and that the upcoming election is somehow in jeopardy.

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“Ever since the courts threw out our beloved `blanket primary’ in 2003, I have led the fight for a replacement that would continue to give our independent-minded voters the rights to `vote for the person, not the party,’’’ said Reed, the state’s chief elections officer. “The voters approved our new Top 2 system in 2004 by nearly 60 percent and the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld it in a strong 7-2 opinion. This is the law of the land and we are following that. We believe the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will not depart from the direction the U.S. Supreme Court has set forth.

“Despite the unfortunate comments by party lawyers, our Elections Division and the Attorney General are persuaded that we are on solid legal ground and that the will of the voters will survive any and all court challenges by parties. We will continue to vigorously defend this new voter-approved system. It’s about the rights and privileges of the voter, not the power or the preference of the political parties. We will stand with the voters every time.’”

Republican and Democratic Party attorneys contended in letters filed with the state on Monday that a 2005 injunction from U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly still prevents the state from using the new primary system. State attorneys, however, said the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling in favor of the Top 2 system supersedes that injunction and in essence dissolves it. The court said that invalidating a voter-approved initiative before an election has even been carried out would be “extraordinary and precipitous nullification of the will of the people,” Reed noted.

Nick Handy, state elections director, noted that the state is proceeding to implement the first-ever Top 2 primary on August 19, seeing the legal skirmishing as posing no roadblock. The Voters' Pamphlet has been printed and ballots for military and overseas voters will be in the mail in less than two weeks. A Top 2 filing period for candidates went off without a hitch last month.

“In summary, the state is proceeding to implement the people's initiative as upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Handy said. “We’re moving full steam ahead.”

Despite losing in the nation’s highest court, the parties have continued their legal challenge of Initiative 872, the voter-approved measure that created the new primary system in 2004. The state Attorney General expects to prevail in any federal or state court proceedings, and preserve the voters’ independence and ability to “vote for the person, not the party.”

The new system allows voters to choose their favorite for each office without regard to party, and the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election. The primary will be a winnowing election to narrow the field for the November general election, and not a nominating election. Candidates may state a party that they prefer, but this does not mean the party endorses or associates with them.

Primary ballots must be postmarked by Aug. 19. King and Pierce Counties also have poll-site voting. The general election is Nov. 4.