There are few things in life I love more than voting. I can’t even pass a consumer poll in the mall without stopping to add my two cents.
There are many things in life we don’t get a say in, but who makes decisions on our behalf shouldn’t be one of them.
This year, I couldn’t be prouder to be voting in Washington. Not only do we have several stellar candidates in both state and local elections, the state’s Aug. 19 primary will be history in the making.
It is the advent of the Top 2 Primary system, which a majority of voters have been awaiting for the last four years.
Voters don’t have to declare a party affiliation when voting, thus being able to choose among all of the candidates for each office. Then, the two candidates with the most votes will advance to the general election.
This is democracy plain and simple.
Normally, I watch the presidential race with such enthusiasm but I am heartily disappointed in the presidential primary system. By the time we Washingtonians got to cast our votes, some of the candidates I was interested in had dropped out, partly because of slow showings in earlier states’ primaries.
Where is the justice and sense of democracy in that? My true vote wasn’t heard.
I have hope that the Top 2 Primary will get us back to the basics of democracy, and I applaud the U.S. Supreme Court for allowing Washington’s voters to be heard.
You see, the system had quite the journey from inception to actuality. It was passed by voters in 2004 as an initiative, garnering almost 60 percent of the votes.
But in May 2005, the state Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties sued in federal court to prevent its implementation because, they argued, the system violated their right to free association.
Both the federal District Court and subsequently the Court of Appeals sided with the parties. Finally, the state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the constitutionality of the initiative.
The court reasoned that, since this form of primary had never been used, the political parties’ challenge was based on assumptions.
I hope the system will cause a few more people to pay attention earlier in the election process. Having the Top 2 Primary means it is possible there could be two candidates who identify with the same party in the general election. Which means if you don’t vote in the primary, your “team” may be absent when it comes time for the final vote.
It’s about time we won’t have to choose from the top of each dominant party’s pool, which means there is a better shot of having the best of the best representing Southwest Washington.
