Words mean things…

…and the words we use in the upcoming fight to restore fairness and sanity to the Washington State primary election process will be important. Andrew at the Northwest Progressive Institute offers some crucial definitions...

1. Blanket primary means a system where you may choose from among all candidates of all parties. So you could skip back and forth the ballot and vote for a Democrat for Governor, Republican for U.S. Senate, and so forth - just like in the general election. This system is what Washington had for decades.

2. Open primary is different. In an open primary, voters may vote in one primary of a party of their choice - the choice to be made at the voting booth. So you can vote only on the Democratic ballot, or only on the Republican ballot, or only (sometimes) the Libertarian ballot. It's an "open" primary because party registration by voters isn't required. This is what we used last September - the "Montana-style" primary.

We want open primary elections. Simple enough, and a message that carries positive associations even with people who are only paying cursory attention.

Both major parties will be taking the result's of last years' initiative, which imposes a system where the top two vote getters move to the general election without regard to party ID (the so-called 'Cajun Primary') to court, seeking relief that will once again offer Washington voters an open primary process.

When considering the opposing arguments, consider this. They are being made by people who look to Louisiana as a model for electoral reform. With all due respect to my Daddy's people, who immigrated through the port of New Orleans, that just sounds nuts to me.