This morning King County District Court Judge Richard Eadie refused to direct the state's 39 counties to change their ballots to list gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi as a Republican, as a lawsuit filed by the state Democratic Party had proposed.

Rossi is currently shown on the ballot as a candidate who "prefers G.O.P. Party", a designation that Democrats argued was misleading according to polling, and potentially illegal under state law that requires affiliation with a previously acknowledged party. This year's "top two" primary may have changed all that.

Secretary of State Sam Reed delighted in the results, saying it was a victory for the idea that the new system would be driven by voters and not political parties.

"I am relieved and delighted that the court has rejected attempts to hamper or derail a smooth and efficient election, and to potentially imperil the voting rights of some of our military voters," Reed said. "Judge Eadie has properly declined to overturn months of careful preparation and administration of an election system that citizens created for themselves through initiative and have expressed such satisfaction with. By not requiring a candidate for governor to follow the opposition party's wishes for how he designates his party preference, the court has acknowledged a central feature of the new Top 2 system: Candidates are free to file for office and express their party preference without government interference. Voters then pick their favorites and the two top vote-getters advance to the November General Election, regardless of party preference.

"This ruling again underscores that the new system is driven by and for the voters, not the political parties, and we couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Pierce County Auditor Pat McCarthy, a Tacoma Democrat who is running for Pierce County Executive, is, somewhat unexpectedly, also one of those on Reed's side after the ruling. McCarthy, who runs Pierce County elections, told the Tacoma News-Tribune that, if the ruling had been for the Democrats, "It would be a tremendous hardship. The cost would be astronomical."

Some ballots have already been mailed to overseas military personnel, and most of the others will be sent out in the next two weeks.