Plan modifies blanket primary

OLYMPIA — Secretary of State Sam Reed on Tuesday proposed a "modified blanket primary" similar to the so-called Cajun Primary pioneered by Louisiana, allowing the top two vote-getters to advance to the general election.

The new system would replace a popular primary that allows voters to split their tickets and doesn’t require registration by party.

The federal courts have outlawed that so-called "blanket primary" that Washington adopted as a Grange initiative back in 1934.

The state is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, but most scholars don’t expect the high court to take the case. That means state lawmakers are under the gun to adopt a replacement system in time for the 2004 primary in September.

Reed, the state’s chief elections officer, said lawmakers need to come up with a plan that voters will accept and that will withstand a court challenge by the political parties.

Reed sent legislators a notebook crammed with background, legal opinions, analysis — and his suggestion for what he’s calling a modified blanket primary. Voters still would be able to hopscotch between the parties as they worked their way down the primary ballot, and still wouldn’t register by party.

The top two for each office would advance to the general election — potentially two from the same party.

Reed noted that the state uses a similar system to elect more than 5,000 nonpartisan officials in odd-year primaries.

"This is the closest to a blanket primary we can get," said Steve Excell, Reed’s top lieutenant. "For the voter, the new system would perform and behave like the blanket primary."

The system wouldn’t cost any more to administer and could be easily used by absentee voters, Excell said. The system almost certainly would withstand legal muster, he said.

The other main proposal being considered by the Legislature is dubbed "Open Primary, Private Choice." That system, used in Montana and some other states, requires voters to choose only one party’s ballot, with no record kept of which ballot the person takes.

Gov. Gary Locke has endorsed this approach.

The parties dislike the Cajun primary because it would still allow crossover voting and wouldn’t restrict participation to the party’s self-identified members. Parties like the open primary, but want lists and want to be able to decide who their bona fide candidates are.

All four legislative caucuses have formed task forces to study the issue, but have reached no conclusions, House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, said in a recent interview. Chopp is pushing for formation of a House-Senate select committee to come up with a recommendation.

The state Grange, which has joined the appeal to the Supreme Court, has signaled that it will sponsor an initiative if the Legislature doesn’t approve something like Reed’s modified blanket primary.

"The mission now is to get the Legislature to pass something, so there is an alternative (in case the court doesn’t act)," said Reed spokeswoman Trova Hutchins. "Otherwise we might have something like the California recall election" with all candidates advancing to the general election.

"That would be an oncoming train wreck," she said.