On April 15, the Washington State House Ways & Means Committee passed SB 5119. This is the bill that eliminates the presidential primary in 2012. The bill had already passed the Senate. The major parties would rather use caucuses to choose delegates to the national conventions anyway.

If this bill is signed into law, there will be no Washington state elections for Precinct Committee Officer. Precinct Committee Officer (“PCO”), is a political party office. Earlier this year a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that it unconstitutional to hold elections for party office in the general election, or the top-two primary election either, so the only remaining way to elect this office had been at a presidential primary. But if there is no presidential primary, there won’t be a publicly-funded election for this party office.