SPOKANE -

Rep. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia) just introduced state Democratic Party Chair Dwight Pelz in a discussion about the "top two" primary, how it came about, and where it might lead. He enumerated the differences between Washington's current setup and the Louisiana process after which it was modeled. Hunt, like Pelz, is not a fan of the system.

Pelz read from the Supreme Court's decision that upheld I-872, notably the passage that created wiggle room by stating that voter confusion in the ballots could reverse the decision.

The party chair maintains that "it is our opinion that the courts did not uphold the constitutionality" of top two when they upheld it earlier this year, but rather they declined to rule on it.

"We think Democrats should pick Democratic candidates," he reiterated, "and Republicans should pick Republican candidates."

Pelz also railed, as an American, against the way the system would block out minor parties.

"The top two primary virtually outlaws minor parties in Washington state," Pelz said. "The fact is that they will not make it to the general election ballot virtually any time there is a Democrat and a Republican on the ballot."

He even delved into some hijinx, talking about how he was tempted to get the Democrats to all prefer a name like the Mother Teresa Party or the Democratic Prosperity Party to thumb their nose at Sam Red.

"I'm not gonna say that I immediately called Dan Savage at The Stranger to encourage someone to file for the ‘prefers men party', but someone may have done it," Pelz joked.

Sam Reed, he says, "makes it possible for politicians to lie about who they are. Everybody doesn't know what the GOP is. There's a reason Dino [Rossi] did it [chose GOP for the ballot instead of Republican], it is because he knows people don't know what the GOP is. Sam Reed thinks that is okay, and that makes people very angry."

Pelz also asserted that it hurt Democrats to allow for a mushy ballot form.

"When we say Democrat next to our name, we get more votes," he said. "Luke Esser's [Republican] Party may get fewer votes, but we get more votes."

Democratic National Committee member David McDonald also spoke on the issue, namely the legal aspect.

I-872, he says, was supposed to recreate the blanket primary, with an "R" and a "D" after the name. But by the time it got to the Supreme Court, he suggested it was considered unconstitutional.

"I do not think this initiative would have passed if it were done as it looks now," McDonald said. "I can tell you that there will be a minimum of ten elections there will be a general with two people from the same party."

There was also talk of the Democrats' nomination process. The Democratic Party Charter, according to McDonald says that the Democratic nominees should be chosen by Democrats. The Supreme Court then said in their ruling that part of the party's right is that the state cannot force them to associate with somebody. That, they suggested, is why they instilled the somewhat controversial PCO nomination process that districts like Seattle's 36th refused to follow.

"We want the people to choose," Pelz said, "but if we're forced to nominate them as a party we will. I realized it caused anxiety, and I'm proud of the people that stepped up on it."

He also suggested that if the top two isn't undone by then, it is likely that the nomination process will be changed by 2010.