The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to hear Washington state’s appeal in the “top-two” case on February 23. The case is Washington State v Republican Party of Washington, 06-730. Both the U.S. District Court and the 9th circuit had ruled that “top-two” violates the associational rights of political parties, and that if Washington state wants to hold a “top-two” primary, it must leave party labels off the ballot.
February 23 is an interesting date, since it was on February 23, 2004 that the U. S. Supreme Court refused to hear the state’s appeal, thus ending Washington state’s 68-year-old blanket primary.