And so, it appears, democracy has survived despite the reviled change in our state’s primary election system.
By the time all the mail-in ballots are received, turnout in Snohomish County figures to be around the 35 percent of registered voters the Auditor’s Office expected – a close-to-average figure for a primary.
What are we to make of this? Were predictions of voter anger at having to declare a party preference overblown?
Hardly.
In a state-sponsored survey of voters at various polling places Tuesday, 79 percent said they opposed the new primary system – yet they showed up anyway. Ninety-eight percent said they were aware of the new system before arriving to vote. This shapshot, while not scientific, seems to indicate two things:
1. County and state election officials ran effective education campaigns about the new format;
2. Washingtonians value their right to vote, and understand that anger shouldn’t trump their democratic responsibility.
In Snohomish County, plenty of critical local issues were at stake, from emergency-services levies to library issues to a sales-tax increase for transit. Nearly all of them passed.
A surprisingly low number of those who voted – less than 10 percent in Snohomish County – refused to declare a party preference. And almost 56 percent of county voters chose the Democratic ballot, no doubt drawn to a high-profile race for governor and a close contest for attorney general. So even though most voters chose a party, many didn’t appear ready to shed their independent skin.
Appropriately, citizens will have an opportunity to express their displeasure at the ballot box in November by voting for Initiative 872. The political parties, whose lawsuit got our state’s popular blanket primary thrown out, face an uphill battle against the initiative, which would restore the ability to vote for any candidate in a primary, regardless of party. Sponsored by the Washington State Grange, I-872 would move the top two primary vote-getters to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. Such a system would do what the old blanket system did: give an edge to moderate candidates whose appeal crosses party lines.
Party leaders, of course, can’t stand that idea. They want to control who uses the Democratic, Republican or Libertarian label, and would prefer to force citizens to declare a party affiliation when they register to vote.
If I-872 passes in November, no matter how overwhelmingly, expect the parties to sue. That will show whether they have any respect at all for independence – or voters.
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