Washington state's "top-two" primary gets its first trial run today, and we'll be watching with interest to see if this controversial style of choosing general-election candidates results in the immediate collapse of democracy there.

We overstate, of course, the arguments made by opponents of the top-two primary. Nevertheless, voters in this state should get ready to hear a lot more about this type of election, because a measure to move to a top-two primary in Oregon is on November's ballot.

Oregon's Measure 65 essentially would change the way candidates advance to the general election for most partisan offices. Here's how it would work: All candidates, regardless of party designation, would run in a single primary. Only the two top vote-getters would advance to the general election. Both the primary - and general-election ballots - would contain the candidates' party registrations. But such designations would not necessarily mean that a candidate had the blessing of the party. The ballots also would list which party endorsements candidates have collected.

As you might imagine, political parties are unhappy with the notion of a top-two primary. In fact, the ballot initiative to move to a top-two primary in Washington passed overwhelmingly in 2004, but it has been held up by litigation until now.

The political parties have a couple of arguments against the top-two system that bear consideration: They argue, for example, that in some races - and, in fact, this will happen today in Washington - two candidates from the same party will advance to the general election, depriving voters from another party of a meaningful choice in November. And at first glance, the top-two primary seems likely to make it more difficult for third-party candidates to make the November ballot.

On the other hand, the top-two system would save us from the annual election spectacle of candidates tacking one way in the primary to win the favors of the party faithful and then moving in another direction to appeal to a broader constituency.

Another argument you'll hear from opponents of the top-two election is that the system could increase voter confusion about what candidates really stand for. But a result that seems more likely to us is that voters will spend more time assessing candidates' positions on issues and less time fretting about party affiliation.

However, the argument that could trump them all is this one: Voters may find that the top-two primary gets them re-energized about the power - and the responsibility - of voting. Predictions are that today's election in Washington could draw a near-record turnout. That's the kind of result that could go a long ways toward forestalling the collapse of democracy.