Source:
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWith the elimination of partisan primaries for choosing political party nominees in Washington state, Democrats say they'll anoint their 2008 candidates in conventions this spring.
But it's unclear how important those endorsements will be.
Under the "top two" system taking effect this year, all candidates for a given office will be listed together on the August primary ballot. The top two vote-getters will advance to the November general election.
Candidates may choose to label themselves as "Democrat," "Republican," "Green" or otherwise on the ballot. No candidate may claim on the ballot to be the official nominee of a party.
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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/358118_primary08.html
BACKGROUNDFrom 1934 to 2003, Washington State had a blanket primary. All candidates appeared on the primary ballot together, and voters could pick one candidate for each race, regardless of party. The candidate from each party who received the most votes became the party nominee in the General Election, provided that the most votes amounted to at least 1% of all votes cast in that race. Independent candidates who received at least 1% of the total votes would also move on to the General Election. This primary system was upheld by the state Supreme Court in 1936, and the first election using it was held that fall.
After a federal court rejected a similar primary in California in 2001, the Washington Democratic Party filed a lawsuit against the blanket primary, and were latter joined by the state Republican and Libertarian parties. In 2003, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the blanket primary did, in fact, violate the rights of political party's to chose their own candidates. In response, the people of Washington passed
Initiative 872 in 2004 which created a non-partisan blanket primary; I-872 passed with almost 60% of the vote, 1,632,225 to 1,095,190. It was challenged immediately by the state's major parties, so implementation was suspended until the courts could rule. Instead, Washington has used a "pick-a-party" system, where voters declare themselves for one of the state's major parties and must then limit their choices to candidates of that one party. (Independent and minor party candidates were banned from participating in the primary election.)
On March 18, 2008 the United States Supreme Court issued their ruling on
Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party et al. In this decision, the Court upheld the constitutionality of I-872 seven to two. The new primary system will be used for the first time this summer.