OLYMPIA, Wash.-Washington State’s Primary Election is Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Washington adopted the top-two primary system in 2004 after the passage of I-872 and became the first state to conduct a top-two primary election in Aug. 2008.
As of 2023, Washington is still one of only three states, along with California and Nebraska, to use the top-two primary system, according to ballotpedia.
In a top-two primary the candidates who garner the most votes, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the General Election.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, candidates in the top-two primary may state a preference for a political party, which will be listed on the ballot.
That means that it is possible for two candidates who prefer the same party to advance to the General Election if they received the most votes in the primary.
Unlike the Presidential primary, voters do not have to declare a party affiliation when voting in Washington’s top-two primary and can instead choose between all candidates running for any office.
The top-two primary is used for partisan office elections, including the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the State Legislature and partisan statewide and county offices, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
The top-two primary does not apply to Presidential elections or races for nonpartisan offices.
Ballots and voters’ guides have been mailed, however, information on candidates and races for judicial, legislative, statewide and federal races is also available online through VoteWA.
Primary ballots must be postmarked or dropped off in an official ballot drop box by 8 p.m. on election day, Aug. 6.
