Other LanguagesOLYMPIA – Attorney General Rob McKenna will argue on behalf of Washington’s people before the US Supreme Court on October 1, defending Initiative 872. The “Top Two Primary” initiative defense will be McKenna’s second argument before the US Supreme Court. McKenna represents the people of Washington and Secretary of State Sam Reed in a challenge to I-872 brought by the state’s major political parties.
Attorney General Rob McKenna Actuality #1a - "We will be in the United States Supreme Court, Monday, October 1st, the first case of the new term seeking to uphold the will of the voters of Washington state when they adopted Initiative 872. Initiative 872 would put in place a new primary called the “Top Two” primary to replace the beloved blanket primary which the political parties succeeded in invalidating in Federal court. (24 seconds)
Attorney General Rob McKenna Actuality #1b – “Under the Top Two primary the voters have decided to take away from the political parties their nominating primary, that is to say the tax payer’s system for parties selecting nominees and they have replaced it with a Top Two primary under which no party is guaranteed that their nominee will go to the general direction. Instead the top two vote getters advance to the general election regardless of party. This is important to the voters because it allows them to vote for the candidate they like best in the primary without having to limit their choice to one party or another.” (33 seconds)
Secretary of State Sam Reed Actuality #2 – “The issue here is very fundamental and deeply important to the people of Washington, which is who has the right to decide who the elected officials are going to be. Throughout our history, back to territorial times, the people of the state of Washington the people have fervently believed that it is the people who have the right to select their officials. That is the fundamental issue of this case. They have also believed that throughout our history they have a First Amendment right to make these decisions to decide which political party is their preference and to move forward with it. I am delighted that the US Supreme Court has accepted this case.” (42 seconds)
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