While we wait on the 9th Circuit Court to announce a ruling on the Top Two primary, we can imagine the eventual response by the Grange if they end up upholding the lower court decision baring the Top Two system.
I think the next logical step for the Grange, while they’ve never said this, is to file another initiative making every statewide elected office and legislative seat non-partisan. While is would no have any impact on the partisan affiliation of any candidate, it would make partisan primaries a moot point.
The idea of non-partisan legislative seats may get an interesting test this November when Pierce County votes on making their county council non-partisan. While, the county executive will stay a partisan official under this proposal, all other county offices, including all other county wide electeds, will shed their partisan lables, at least on the ballot.
How Pierce County votes on this issue will tell us a lot about how Washington could see it in a couple of years. Pierce is one of the large urban Puget Sound counties that typically sway statewide elections and has swung in recent years.
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