The September 27 issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has endorsed write-in candidate Raymond Bunk for Washington State Senate, 31st district. Bunk is a Democrat who ran in the 2010 primary for this same seat. However, at the August 17 primary, two Republicans placed first and second. The editorial says both Republicans are deeply flawed.
Fortunately for Washington state voters, the Washington state top-two system permits write-ins at the general election, unlike the California version. Thanks to Krist Novoselic for the link.
That “newspaper” must not understand Washington law with regard to write-in votes.
RCW 29A.24.311 prevents a losing candidate in the primary from filing as a write-in candidate in the general elections.
RCW 29A.60.021 says that a write-in vote for an undeclared write-in candidate in the general election is not valid if the candidate lost in the primary.
Incidentally, the endorsed candidate finished 4th in the primary.
California permits write-in votes in the general election for a voter-nominated office. It requires a write-in space be printed on the ballot, and defines a procedure by which a write-in candidate may declare their candidacy and have the SOS disseminate that name to county election officials so that write-in votes for the vote may be counted.
Since the intent of Proposition 14 was that the Top 2 candidates advance to the general election (and implicitly, that other candidates not) California law should be modified to follow the scheme in Washington, where trailing candidates in the primary may not declare as write-in candidates in the general election.
NO idiot primaries are needed.
P.R. and App.V.
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14th Amdt, Sec. 2 is still around regarding write-in votes.
Raymond Bunk the DEMOCRAT? Yuck! Opeach Obama!
Washington voters can’t even write in bunk. The irony is too much.
“Top-two” will create a one party state.
That single party will hold a single primary that happens to nominate two candidates.
Only members of that single party will be able to participate. Anyone who does not wish to participate in the single, state controlled party will have the two nominees from the single party to choose in November and no one else.
Over time, the current parties will disappear. Powerfull factions will evolve within the single party. They will learn to work to control both winning candidates by controlling issue postioning in the single primary, funding and endorsements.
Eventually, the monolithic nominees of the single party state will restrict access to the single party nominating primary through their control of the legislative process. In this way they will completely control the electoral process by controlling who the candidates can be.
Preventing or restricting write-ins in any way, as in Washington and California currently, is just one step in this plan.
Eventually, if adopted nationwide, the US will have an evil, single-party, c o m m u n i s t, electoral system.
We will have fewer choices on the ballot than in the old single party Soviet Union.
That is the underlying intent of the supporters of “top-two.” They are perfectly aware of what they are creating. It is the evil intent of a tiny cabal. Despite their lies and legalistic arguments of minutiae, their intent is to end free elections in America.
“Top-two” must be stopped.