Excerpt
(Excerpted from Supreme Court Debates, April 2008)
For 68 years, the State of Washington had a “blanket primary” system, where voters could cast ballots for whichever party’s candidates they preferred. They could select the Democratic nominee for governor, then turn around and pick the Republican nominee for Senate, regardless of their own party affiliation.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a similar primary system in California Democratic Party v. Jones (2000), however, holding that voters who are not affiliated with a political party cannot help to choose the party’s nominees in the pr…
In This Issue
-
Foreword
Read More -
Before the Court
The Justices Weigh in During Oral Arguments
Read More -
Opinion of the Court
Washington’s Top-Two Primary System Is Not Facially Unconstitutional
Read More -
Timeline of Washington Electoral Systems
Blanket Primaries and Legal Battles
Read More -
Overview of Initiative 872
Washington’s Top-Two Primary System
Read More
Pro & Con
Is Washington State’s Primary System Constitutional?
