Will the primary election results be thrown out?

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And if so, how might that effect the validity of the general election results? Maybe the governor ought to call the legislature back in session to staighten this out.

Democrats demand elimination of blanket primary Party chief threatens to sue unless secretary of state changes system

Thursday, July 6, 2000

By JOEL CONNELLY SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

The state Democratic Party is threatening to go to court if Secretary of State Ralph Munro doesn't act unilaterally to change rules of Washington's Sept. 19 primary.

State Democratic Chairman Paul Berendt, in a letter sent Monday, asked Munro to eliminate the state's blanket primary, which allows all voters to select from nominees of any party, or of several parties, for federal, state and local offices.

The letter asserted that choosing nominees for public office "is a party affair" and that Munro must take into account "the party's rights in connection with the September primary. . . . The simplest thing to do this year would be to require that ballots used in the September primary which contain the names of Democratic nominees not contain the names of any candidate standing for election as a nominee of any other political party or as an independent."

State Elections Director Gary McIntosh said yesterday that the secretary of state's office has no legal authority to change the wide-open primary rule, despite a June 26 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down California's blanket primary law.



-- (craigcar@crosswinds.net), July 06, 2000

Answers

Craig,

Mark should read this. The Democrats and Munro are both right. It ought to be changed to a party primary, but the current state law is what Ralph is required to follow unless a court tells him otherwise. The US Supreme Court did nor rule on a Washington state issue, and while we can infer it should apply here it doesn't until a court rules that it does.

-- dbvz (dbvz@wa.freei.net), July 10, 2000.


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