Oregon Public Broadcasting

Next month, Oregon voters will decide whether to adopt a top two primary election system. It’s already in use in Washington State.

This is where the two candidates with the most votes in a primary race move onto the general election -- even if they’re from the same party.

That’s led to some strange dynamics as correspondent Austin Jenkins found on a visit to Seattle’s 36th legislative district.

The 36th runs from Seattle’s Belltown through Queen Anne, Ballard and up into Greenwood.

Seattle voter Sara Marinello’s front yard displays signs for both Democrats running for the same State Representative seat in the 36th District.

This is solid Democratic territory. And for the first time in more than 35 years, State Rep position one in the 36th is an open seat -- meaning the incumbent isn’t running. But instead of a Democrat and a Republican facing off -- this race pits two Democrats against each other.

The result of the state’s new top two primary system.

Rueven Carlyle: “It’s frustrating and a bit bizarre to be in a general election against a fellow Democrat but at the same time there’s real differences, people understand that and we’re charging forward just like we did in the primary."

Rueven Carlyle is one of the two Democrats running in the 36th. A former high-tech executive, he says the intra-party fight to the finish line is not necessarily a bad thing.

Rueven Carlyle: “The issue is arguably not driven by having a D next to your name it’s driven by what are you going to work on down there and how are you going to be a player and what types of policies are you going to prioritize and so the fact that there’s a little bit of intra-party arm wrestling is all healthy, it’s democracy and it just is not a big deal.”

Carlyle is in a tough fight with John Burbank, the founder of a liberal think tank and a former union political director.

Burbank sees some downsides to the top two system. For example Republicans and third parties don’t have much of a chance making it to the general in districts like his.

On the other hand he says in the old days this race would have essentially ended after the primary. Not any more.

John Burbank: “It’s actually good for the democratic discourse in our district and that’s because there’s such low voter turnout in the primaries and such high voter turnout in the general election that you actually engender a lot more democratic discourse and that’s a good thing.”

Across Washington State, there are eight legislative races this year that pit two candidates of the same party against each other – some in Republican districts, others in Democratic strongholds.

Washington voters approved the top two system in 2004 after the state’s popular blanket primary was ruled unconstitutional.

Court challenges delayed the new system from taking effect until this year. The major political parties continue to wage a legal fight to have the top two thrown out.

Luke Esser is chair of the Washington State Republican Party. He says Oregon voters should think twice before voting in this kind of primary system.

Luke Esser: “It just is going to be a more and more common phenomenon where the voters are deprived of a genuine choice and a genuine debate between the two major parties in large parts of the state and that’s the untold story that Oregon voters need to be aware of.”

Esser is also concerned about the toll it takes when an intra-party fight lasts to November.

In a sign of that disunity in Seattle’s 36th District, the chair of the local Democratic Party declined to be interviewed on tape for this story. He feared it would unnecessarily fan the flames.

For voters in Seattle’s 36th district, the top two has created an interesting dilemma.

Sara Marinello has signs in her front yard for both Democrats running for state rep. She says one candidate stopped by the house when she was home – and she liked him. The other door-belled when her husband was home. And they hit it off.

Sara Marinello: “My husband said that you know he couldn’t take down the Burbank sign because that was his wife’s decision, but if you wanted to neutralize you could put up your sign and that’s how we ended up with two Democratic signs in our yard.”

Marinello thinks both candidates would represent her views and do a good job. So she says no matter who wins she’ll be happy.