Congressional Digest

Supreme Court Debates October 2005 No. 7 Vol. 8
Michael Clingman, et al., Petitioners

Election Participation

The Constitutionality of State Bans on Open Primaries

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Michael Clingman, et al., Petitioners

Wellon B. Poe, Jr., Counsel of RecordThe State of Oklahoma has a semi-closed primary system, which allows only registered party members and independent voters to participate in that party’s primaries. In September 2000, the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma filed suit against the Oklahoma Election Board and its secretary, Michael Clingman, arguing that it should be allowed to open its primary to members of other parties. A Federal district court refused to issue a preliminary injunction and, in January 2003, ruled in favor of the State. The Libertarian Party appealed to the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which reversed the…

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