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	July 12, 2004 Primary ballot design chosen: Simple, single ballot format to be used for 2004 Primary King County will use a simple, single ballot design to comply with the new primary process mandated by recent legislative and state Supreme Court decisions. Washington’s time-honored blanket primary was determined by the courts to be unconstitutional and earlier this year the State Legislature adopted a new open primary, private choice system modeled after Montana’s primary. Under the new law, voters will have to select a party preference in order to vote in partisan contests during the primary. There is no change in voting for the General Election in November. To help determine what ballot format will be the most effective, King County mailed sample ballot formats to 1600 randomly-selected voters and conducted a series of in-person focus groups with those responding. Dean Logan, Director of King County Records, Elections and Licensing Services said there were four major findings: People followed the instructions and correctly adjusted to the changes in numbers far greater than experienced in other states; Though the separate ballot design (one ballot for each party and one for non-partisan races and ballot measures; voters choose one and throw away the three unused ballots) had its supporters, people were concerned about the costs and waste of mailing three times as much paper as necessary. More voters indicated support for a single ballot over separate ballots – and more importantly – the rate of correctly-filled out ballots was the same for single and separate ballot designs; Even though many people were angry about the change, they considered voting too important a right to let it stand in the way of their voting in the primary. “This is the first major step in getting ready for the primary – the choice of a simple, single ballot. The next will be streamlining the instructions and the lay-out of the ballot, which we expect to complete by the time candidates begin filing for office the week of July 26 through July 30. Our final challenge will be to explain this ballot to the half million voters we hope will vote in the primary,” said Logan. With that in mind, Logan said King County is moving forward with a massive public information program that will repeat the core instructions voters need to expect when they see their new ballot. When voting in the primary, voters will need to: choose a party by marking their selection on the top of the ballot; vote for candidates within that party; and complete the ballot by voting in the non-partisan contests and on ballot measures – even if they opt not to select a party. As the September 14th Primary moves closer, King County Elections will continue to update its Web site with the latest information. Media availability: Dean Logan, Director King County Records, Elections and Licensing Services MONDAY, JULY 12, 2004, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. King County Administration Building, Room 553 500 Fourth Avenue, Seattle 206-296-1540 Updated: July 12, 2004 Executive's home Executive's news Executive's site map | E-mail the Executive King County | Executive | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County. By visiting this and other King County web pages, you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site. The details.