[2] The blanket primary in Washington State was started by an Initiative to the Legislature filed in 1934 and passed in 1935.

Secretary of State Sam Reed advocated for the top-two, but on April 1, 2004, the Governor used the line-item veto to activate the open primary instead.

This proposal continues current practice of permitting voters to vote for any candidate for any office in primary and general elections, without limitation based on party.

[5] The decision to uphold 872 changed the implementation of the 2008 primary election, which was held on August 19.

The results of a study from Gonzaga University comparing the results in Washington state between the 2004 (closed) and 2008 (top two) primaries, indicate that the top two primary overall reduced the likelihood of running against a same party candidate and it reduced the likelihood that a strong incumbent would face a challenger from his or her own party.