Tuesday's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to allow Washington state to hold "top-two" primaries could change the face of local and statewide politics.

The high court stopped eight years of bickering in the state when it ruled that the "top-two" primary, proposed in 2004 and opposed by the major political parties, is constitutional.

The 7-2 ruling allows for a replacement of the "blanket primary" system, which had allowed voters to cross party lines to participate in primary elections. The new system allows for the top two vote-getters to compete in the general election, even if they are from the same party.

Some party officials say they are concerned it could spell the end of competitive races, since several times in the past 36 years the highest vote-getting candidates in the primaries were from the same party.

"This is a very big deal for the state of Washington," Secretary of State Sam Reed told The Seattle Times in Wednesday's edition.

"Having everyone who is exactly the same isn't a good thing for American politics," added Paul Berendt, former Washington Democratic Party chairman. Berendt opposes crossover primaries because they upset the ability of a party to select its own candidates.

According to the Times,  10 examples, including three governor races, could be found of the top two vote-getters for statewide offices being from the same party. Nine examples were found for congressional or U.S. Senate races.

Tuesday's ruling could also wipe out third-party candidates, who have little chance of competing in the general election unless their own primary winner can advance from within the ticket.

Attorney General Rob McKenna told the newspaper he doesn't expect the scenario to be so widespread, but Republican State Party Chairman Luke Esser suggested new court action may be attempted to try to block the top-two primary. Esser argued that the courts may be sympathetic to claims of voter confusion.

Louisiana is the only other state where the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. Washington's statewide primaries are scheduled for August.

Click here to read The Seattle Times story.