Washington is no Colorado.
State Fails to Protect Citizens from Insurrectionist Government
Donald Trump will remain on the Washington state primary ballot.1 He should not. Arnold Schwarzenegger should also not be on our presidential primary ballots; but Judge Wilson, of Thurston County Superior Court, has ruled in a way that makes the Secretary of State powerless to disallow him ballot access—ineligible as a foreign-born citizen—or any other disqualified candidate. At the hearing to consider Trump’s disqualification from the primary ballot, in Thurston Superior Court on January 18th, she ruled, “the Secretary has no choice but to accept the candidates named by the major political parties.”2 If the strategy of the Washington judiciary and legislature is to rely on both major political parties to follow rules, act rationally, and not put forth names of disqualified individuals they haven’t been reading the news in the past three to four years. We are in the midst of an ongoing insurrection by the Republican party and no amount of denial is going to cure it.
Judge Wilson’s reading of RCW 29A.56.0313 is risible if she interprets when it says, “Once submitted, changes must not be made to the candidates that will appear on the ballot” as constraining the Secretary. It constrains the party chair, not the Secretary. “Once submitted—” ties the restriction to the submitter; if it were constraining the Secretary it would have read “Once received—“.The intent is that political parties don’t get to revise their candidates, not that the Secretary of State should allow them to field ineligible candidates, nor that the state auditors should collect their votes, wasting the time and energy of government, and the votes of Washington citizens. The legislature also hasn’t done its job. The practical implications of its statutes such as RCW 29A.68.0114—that sets a draconian timetable of 48 hours to protest a ballot and five days to resolve by hearing—leaves no time to examine evidence. In the case at hand—with something as important as the qualifications of the president—the hearing took place on the last possible date, allocating only an hour or so to adjudicate. How is Washington ever to do better? This was the most important case of its kind it’ll ever hear. Wilson’s ruling says we don’t have the power to protect the ballot, and thus our governance. The legislature must take stock and provide remedies, or we’re only safe from typos.
The basis to disqualify Trump is the 14th Amendment, Section 35[v], which is plain enough to be read and understood by any citizen. Our great founding document was meant to be read and understood by us all. When Frankey Ithaka, Robert Brem, et al, signed the affidavit to have Trump removed from the Washington state primary ballot, they wanted the Constitution to mean exactly what it says: an insurrectionist cannot be president. Instead, they were told Washington didn’t have the time for it. Literally. Challenges can always be mounted later, but when it comes to demagogues, challenges must be mounted at inception. We shouldn’t let a disqualified demagogue entrench themself on a primary ballot and get votes. Challenges later won’t be easier. As it stands, only a few citizens in Washington have stood up to enforce the Constitution; the leadership, the government, and those running our elections have all remained dangerously silent or agnostic. Shame on them.