US Supreme Court rules on Washington State Primary

Intersting news for Washington State voters! Ever since our "blanket" primary (where voters could select from both parties when they were voting - i.e. pick a Dem for Governor, Republican for Mayor, etc.)  was declared unconstitional, Washington State has been in debate over what an appropriate structure is. And the battle has gone all the way to the Supreme Court.

According to The Seattle Times:

"The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld Washington's top-two primary system, delivering a huge defeat for the state's political parties.

The decision means the state will dump its unpopular "pick-a-party" primary that's been in place while the top-two system was being challenged in court.

The new system will be used for the state primary on Aug. 19.

Under the top-two primary, the two candidates with the most votes would move on to the general election, regardless of political affiliation."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004289949_webprimary18m.html

p.s. in case you haven't been following this issue along the way, the article also has a timeline of our primary system and how the issue has unfolded over the past few years.

-- Tara