As the Legislature considers some relatively minor changes to state election laws this year, one is needed above all others:
Stop requiring voters to indicate their party preference in primaries by checking a box.
Senate Bill 5408 would allow county election officials to count primary ballots if a voter fails to check such a box, as long as the voter sticks with one party in partisan races.
Here’s the problem: In the 2006 primary, tens of thousands voters statewide had their votes in partisan races nullified because they failed to check a box stating their party affiliation. We have the political parties themselves to thank for this supremely irritating ballot feature. They insisted on a proactive declaration of party choice after the state’s long-standing blanket primary (which allowed voters to go back and forth between parties in the primary) was declared unconstitutional.
In counties where voters are offered separate party ballots for partisan races, it’s not an issue. But the check box is required in counties that use a consolidated ballot, which lists all partisan races on a single piece of paper to reduce costs. That’s the kind used in all-mail Snohomish County.
Some voters who failed to check the party-preference box no doubt did so to protest the whole pick-a-party concept. Populist Washingtonians had long cherished the freedom of choosing their favorite candidate in partisan primaries, regardless of party. Many simply missed it, even though it was flagged in the ballot’s first column with bold print and bright yellow highlights.
Those who still want to protest, of course, have every right to do so. But those who otherwise play by the pick-a-party rules shouldn’t have their vote canceled for failure to check a single box on a crowded ballot.
Other election-law changes worth passing this year include:
* Requiring that non-partisan races with just two candidates skip the primary ballot and go directly to the November general election. Last year, two state Supreme Court races were decided in the primary, when fewer people vote. That’s no way to elect powerful state officials.
* Allowing online voter registration. As long as security features that enable us to do our banking, pay our taxes and renew our driver’s licenses online are in place, this is a practical move that reflects modern lifestyles. Only folks with a current Washington driver’s license or ID card could register to vote online.
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