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Contact: Lance Olson
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High Court Throws Out California's Blanket Primary Elections -- Party Lawyers Applaud Ruling
June 26, 2000 (SACRAMENTO) -- In a 7 - 2 opinion, the United States Supreme Court ruled today that California's blanket primary elections, in which voters choose nominees from candidates of any party regardless of their own party affiliation, violate the parties' constitutional right to associate and choose their own candidates.
California's two major parties joined with the Libertarian and Peace and Freedom parties to challenge the constitutionality of Proposition 198, the 1996 ballot initiative that created California's blanket primary. George Waters, a partner in the Sacramento law firm Olson Hagel Waters & Fishburn, argued the case on behalf of all four parties. Waters' law firm serves as general counsel to the California Democratic Party.
"A party's right to define its membership, its message and its standard-bearers is a basic freedom of association protected by the First Amendment," Waters said. "The Court agreed that blanket primaries violate those rights by inviting voters with no loyalty to the party to influence the selection of the party's nominees for office. The Constitution guarantees the right to the party, and not someone else, to choose the party's nominees."
Justice Scalia, writing for the majority, said: "Proposition 198 forces political parties to associate with-to have their nominees, and hence their positions, determined by -- those who, at best, have refused to affiliate with the party, and, at worst, have expressly affiliated with a rival."
The decision means that California must return to the closed primary system, in which registered party members select that party's nominees. Today's opinion did not address the constitutionality of the open primary system, in which voters choose at the polling place which party's ballot to vote. Open primaries are used in 23 states. Blanket primaries have been in effect in California, Alaska and Washington.
Two Orange County Republican legislative primaries were decided by crossover voters in March. Tom Harman will represent the Republican Party in the race for the 67th Assembly District although his primary opponent, Jim Righeimer, got more Republican votes. Crossover votes were also responsible for Lynn Daucher's victory over two conservative Republicans in the heavily Republican 72nd Assembly District.
The ruling will not affect this year's primary election results or those in prior years, according to Waters. "The parties did not ask the Court to nullify elections that have already occurred, and as I read the opinion, those election results will stand," he said.
The opinion in California Democratic Party v. Jones may be found at http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-401.ZS.html.
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