Washington's primary system

A confusing, irritating in its negativity flyer came out last week from the Secretary of State, "explaining" the ballot for the September primary. The Supreme Court a few months ago that the established blanket primary was unconstitutional. This was at the behest of the three major parties in the state, since they felt that it detracted from their ability to field the party's most effective candidate in the general election.

The current Secretary of State dislikes the Montana system, where a person votes only one party, but no record of which party the voter chooses is kept, and favors the Louisiana system, which effectively annhialates the parties by having the general election be between the top two vote getters regardless of party affiliation.

Certainly in a democratic society this is a good system, but we are not a democracy, we are a republic. The primaries are mainly designed to let the voters help the parties select their candidate for the general election.

What is amusing is that the Secretary of State's office is suddenly being flooded with angry callers. The Supreme Court ruled on this months ago -- and the legislature has been busy working to try to find a reasonable solution for this primary. People are just now finding this out? Too much time watching CNN and MSNBC and not enough time reading the PI and Times, perhaps.

As far as I can tell, the Secretary of State's responsibility is to make sure the election is fair, legal, and that every citizen have every chance to cast their ballots. It is the legislature's responsibility to set policy, not the Secretary of State's.

I confess I have a hard time understanding what the fuss is about. I have lived where not only one has to register by party, but it was binding at the point. The poll workers themselves had access to a voter's primary history, and the power to refuse a voter the ballot of their choice, based on history, if they felt the voter was trying to cross over for nefarious purposes. I have lived where the primary was in the fall, held well after caucuses and caused the parties confusion when the party's endorsed candidate did not not win the primary.

I could argue that even having a fall primary is a disadvantage -- while it may be fine to select state candidates, the voters do not have a choice in selecting a presidential candidate, since the party conventions are held in the summer. A fall primary makes for a shorter campaign season, but in reality it seems to most favor the candidates with the biggest coffers.

I will be voting in September, and I will be comfortable voting on the Democrat's ballot. I am also supporting a different candidate for secretary of state, someone who is more interested in preserving the integrity of the votes that are cast than in bickering over what system is used.

One alternative has not been raised -- eliminate the cost of a primary, and select candidates merely by caucus. That way the parties themselves endure the entire cost of the selection process.