Washington Administrative Code
Title 434 - Secretary of State
Chapter 434-230 - Ballots
Section 434-230-055 - Partisan primary

(1) Voters are not required to affiliate with a political party in order to vote in the primary election. For each office, voters may vote for any candidate in the race.

(2) Candidates are not required to obtain the approval of a political party in order to file a declaration of candidacy and appear on the primary or general election ballot as a candidate for partisan office. Each candidate for partisan office may state a political party that he or she prefers. A candidate's preference does not imply that the candidate is nominated or endorsed by the party, or that the party approves of or associates with that candidate. A candidate's political party preference is not used to determine which candidates advance to the general election.

(3) Based on the results of the primary, the two candidates for each office who receive the most votes and who receive at least one percent of the total votes cast for that office advance to the general election. The primary election does not serve to nominate any political party's candidates, but serves to winnow the number of candidates down to a final list of two for the general election. Voters in the primary are casting votes for candidates, not choosing a political party's nominees.

(4)Chapter 2, Laws of 2005 (Initiative 872) repealed the prior law governing party nominations. Political parties may nominate candidates by whatever mechanism they choose. The primary election plays no role in political party nominations, and political party nominations are not displayed on the ballot.