Lawmakers OK General Election for judges, SPI Top 2

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The Legislature has sent Gov. Jay Inslee a Top 2 elections bill that requires the two primary favorites for each race for Supreme Court, Appeals Court, Superior Court and state school superintendent to advance to the General Election ballot. Currently it is possible for judges and SPI to prevail in the primary by getting more than 50 percent, with the victor going alone to the General Election ballot. This happened last fall in some judicial races and in Randy Dorn’s re-election bid as SPI. Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who strongly supported the bill, called it an excellent improvement of the elections process, allowing a final vote between the two primary favorites in the judicial and SPI races in the General Election, when voter turnout and media attention are considerably heavier. She added:

“It makes good sense. This is a smart improvement for the voters of Washington, and I salute our legislators for putting more emphasis on our important judicial races and our state school superintendent.”

House Bill 1474, prime sponsored by Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, originally passed the House 97-0 on March 7 and cleared the Senate last week 37-9. On Monday, House concurred in a Senate amendment and passed the bill 95-0. Gov. Inslee is expected to sign the bill.