I wrote a few weeks ago about the confusing way that we elect judges in Washington.
It turns out that it’s even more confusing than I thought.
I said that any candidate for the state Supreme Court or court of appeals who gets a majority of the primary vote appears alone on the November ballot, meaning that, when there are two candidates, the primary essentially decides the election. I was right.
I said that elections for Snohomish County Superior Court were the same. I was wrong.
In the 13 Superior Court positions that have only one candidate, that candidate will win without appearing on the either the primary-election or general-election ballot unless someone files as a registered write-in candidate in time for the general election.
In the one spot with two candidates, both candidates appear on the primary ballot, with a candidate who gets a majority winning without appearing on the general election ballot. A loser in the primary can’t register as a write-in candidate for the general election.
In the position with three candidates, the top two qualify for the general election unless one candidate gets a majority and wins the election.
Why the difference? A bill in the 2007 Legislature would have made a change in the way we elect Supreme Court justices, but it died in committee.
Kreidler, Fackler for state insurance commissioner
The Aug. 19 ballot will give us a chance to narrow the field for state insurance commissioner from three to two. I recommend votes for either Democratic incumbent Mike Kreidler or unaffiliated challenger Curtis Fackler.
Kreidler has been a prominent consumer advocate during his two terms, but Fackler, the Spokane County Republican chairman, says he can do more. A general-election contest between the two would give us some honest debate over insurance policy.
The third candidate, Republican John Adams, seems to be banking on the use of the Republican name and his sharing of a name with one of America’s founding fathers, but he has not responded to newspaper inquiries and he has no endorsements from any Republican groups or any connection with the state Republican Party.
Absolute deadline for registration
Monday is the absolute deadline for registering to vote in the Aug. 19 primary. Only new Washington voters can register between 15 and 30 days before an election, and they must do it in person at the elections division of the county auditor’s office on the first floor of the County Administration Building at 3000 Rockefeller in Everett.
Anyone can register or change addresses for the Nov. 4 general election through Oct. 4. Those registrations may be done either in person, by mail or online; forms for mail registration are available at libraries, schools and fire stations.
Evan Smith is Enterprise forum editor. Send comments to him at entopinion@heraldnet.com.
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