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Topic: Blanket primary

	Blanket primary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		In United States politics, the blanket primary (also known as a jungle primary) is a system used for selecting party candidates in a primary election.
		In a blanket primary, voters may pick one candidate for each office without regard to party lines; for instance, a voter might select a Democratic candidate for governor and a Republican candidate for senator.
		The blanket primary survives in modified form in Louisiana, where the top two vote-getters from each office advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Blanket_primary (326 words)

	Washington Policy Center • Publications
		Blanket Primary: Voters do not declare a party affiliation and receive a ballot listing the names of candidates of all parties for each office, and may vote for candidates seeking to be nominated by different parties.
		Since the purpose of a closed primary is to limit participation in a party’s selection process to declared members of that party (plus independents if party rules permit), parties generally adopt rules to prevent “party-raiding,” the process by which members of the opposition party change registration solely for the purpose of a specific primary race.
		Supporters of the blanket primary have argued that it is fundamental that voters in a “safe” district should be able to participate in the nomination of the person who will represent their district, even if of the other party.
	www.washingtonpolicy.org /ElectionLaws/PBDerhamPrimaryBlanket.html (6968 words)

	FairVote - Louisiana Blanket Primary Report
		The blanket primary states of California, Washington and Alaska ultimately had to change their primary systems, and other states growing interested in blanket primaries have turned to look to other reform approaches.
		In 1992, the 4th congressional district primary resulted in two Democrats reaching the runoff election (without Republican or third party candidate appearing on the November ballot), while the 6th congressional district resulted in two Republicans reaching the runoff election (without Democrats or third party candidates on the November ballot).
		Leading blanket primary advocate Tom Campbell, a former Republican congressman from California, testified in 1999 in favor of Rep. Mel Watt's State's Choice of Voting Systems Act (a bill to allow states to use full representation systems in congressional elections), based largely on his positive experience with cumulative voting in Illinois.
	www.fairvote.org /?page=235 (2338 words)

	Appeals Court Blanket Primary Court Case
		Because a blanket primary permits voters to vote in the primary election of a party without being registered in that party, the political parties and party officials who bring this action contend that Proposition 198 violates their right of association guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution.
		Similar to the blanket primary in the sense that a voter can vote for any candidate without regard to party affiliation and is not limited to one party's nominees, the nonpartisan primary differs because "the two top vote receivers, regardless of party, meet in a subsequent [**13] (runoff or general) election." Id. at 3.
		Defendants note that a blanket primary protects voter privacy by permitting voters to participate in the primary election without publicly declaring a party affiliation as is the case in closed primary states and in some open primary states.
	www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us /ele/court.htm (9343 words)

	Primary election - Electowiki
		A primary election is one in which a political party selects a candidate for a later election by all registered voters in that jurisdiction (nominating primary).
		This "blanket primary" was struck down by the United States Supreme Court as violating the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of assembly.
		Primaries can also be used in nonpartisan elections to reduce the set of candidates that go on to the general election (qualifying primary).
	wiki.electorama.com /wiki/Primary_election (542 words)

	The Top Two Primary: Unsound for Washington State
		The "blanket" primary was almost like a primer for the general election because voters could skip back and forth across a primary ballot -- voting for a Democrat for one elective office, a Republican for another and a Libertarian for another.
		When Washington's blanket primary was struck down, the Legislature passed a law providing the governor with a couple of options for a new primary.
		In an open primary, voters may vote in one primary of a party of their choice - the choice to be made at the voting booth.
	www.nwprogressive.org /special/primary (731 words)

	Blanket primary is struck down
		Today's primary election will give Washington voters what may be their last opportunity to skip back and forth across a primary ballot -- voting for a Democrat for one elective office, a Republican for another and a Libertarian for another.
		Other options: a closed primary, in which voters must register by party and receive only one party's primary ballot; an open primary, in which voters don't register by party but must vote on only one party's candidates, or -- probably the most radical of all -- a system in which all offices are non-partisan.
		Olson said he would prefer an open primary because, by continuing not to require voters to register by party, it would be the closest thing to a blanket primary.
	seattlepi.nwsource.com /local/139776_primary16.html (1221 words)

	freedomforum.org: Supreme Court throws out California's blanket primary (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)
		Primaries that allow voters to cast their ballots for any candidate, regardless of party, violate the rights of state political parties, the Supreme Court ruled today in throwing out California's primary system.
		California's "blanket primary" system, which the justices overturned on a 7-2 ruling, is similar to laws in three other states.
		In a blanket primary, everyone receives the same ballot and someone could vote, for example, to nominate a Republican candidate for governor, a Democrat for senator and a Libertarian for state attorney general.
	www.freedomforum.org /templates/document.asp?documentID=12778 (763 words)

	Propositions 60 and 62: Primary Elections
		The blanket primary permitted all voters, both registered partisans and "declined to state" independents, to choose among all the the candidates on the primary ballot, irrespective of party affiliation.
		The blanket primary system was in effect for the primary elections of June 1998 and March 2000.
		The Proposition 62 version of the blanket primary differs from its Proposition 198 predecessor in that it would create a "top two" system in which candidates in the general election are the top vote getters, not official party nominees.
	www.igs.berkeley.edu /library/htPrimaryElections.html (1882 words)

	Primary election - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		A primary election is an election in which voters in a jurisdiction select candidates for a subsequent election (nominating primary).
		Primary elections are generally traced to the U.S. progressive movement.
		Primaries can also be used in partisan elections to reduce the set of candidates that go on to the general election (qualifying primary).
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Primary_elections (1104 words)

	Locke vetoes 'Top 2' primary in Washington state
		Locke restated his frustration with the state’s major political parties for their successful legal challenge to the blanket primary, in which all candidates appeared on one ballot and the top finisher from each party advanced to the general election.
		The demise of the blanket primary, approved by Washington voters decades ago, was triggered by a legal challenge to a similar system in California.
		The initiative will institute a "modified" blanket primary system (also known as a qualifying primary) in which voters will not be restricted to choosing among the candidates of only one party in a primary election.
	www.citizenreviewonline.org /april2004/locke.htm (1035 words)

	Blanket Primary has Other Solutions (August 30, 2000)
		This lack of moderation is the exact opposite of one of the goals of blanket primary proponents.
		For those who like the moderating influence of a blanket primary, a better solution would be for political parties to require that their candidate win their primary with a majority of the vote.
		Instant runoffs could be used by parties in their primaries, as well as in the general election to elect a final winner with majority support.
	eatthestate.org /04-25/BlanketPrimaryhas.htm (836 words)

	State Seeks U.S. Supreme Court Review of Blanket Primary (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)
		The petition for writ of certiorari filed today requests review of the 9th Circuit's decision that struck down Washington's blanket primary in September, asserting that it operates differently from a California primary rejected as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000.
		The petition argues that the 9th Circuit failed to recognize that Washington's election system differs significantly from California's blanket primary in part because voters in Washington are not required to register by party affiliation.
		A U.S. District Court ruled in favor of the state in March 2002, but the blanket primary was struck down by the 9th Circuit in September.
	www.atg.wa.gov /releases/rel_primary_112503.html (335 words)

	9th Circuit Panel Rules Blanket Primary Unconstitutional (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)
		The challenge to the blanket primary system was filed in 2000 by state political parties, which argued that a U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidating California's primary election process rendered Washington's primary unconstitutional.
		Washington argued that this state's primary differed in key respects from the California system that was found to be unconstitutional.
		Washington has used the blanket primary as a means of selecting candidates for the general election ballot since 1936.
	www.atg.wa.gov /releases/rel_primary_091503.html (324 words)

	HistoryLink Essay: A Brief History of Primary Election Rules in Washington State
		In 1907, the state Legislature established a "direct primary" for partisan candidates of political parties for which at least one candidate received 10 percent of the vote for a statewide office at the last general election (major political parties).
		This style of open primary -- with public declarations of party affiliation -- is distinct from the style of open primary used in Wisconsin, Montana, and some other states where the voter receives a primary ballot for each major party and makes a private choice about which ballot to vote.
		In 1978, the blanket primary was again challenged in state courts by one of the major political parties.
	www.historylink.org /essays/output.cfm?file_id=5738 (1069 words)

	Court strikes down Calif. 'blanket' primary system [Free Republic]
		However, many states have simple "open" primaries in which voters of either major party, or just independent voters, can switch over and vote for candidates in a party other than the one in which they registered.
		For instance, a registered voter could cast a primary ballot for a Republican candidate for governor, a Democratic candidate for secretary of state and a Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate -- all in the same election.
		Scalia said the system would have been constitutional if it had been a "non-partisan blanket primary" -- if the primary had produced candidates for a general election who were not associated with a political party.
	www.freerepublic.com /forum/a3957808b60bb.htm (522 words)

	Santa Cruz County Elections Primary Elections
		Under a "Blanket" primary, every voter regardless of political party affiliation is eligible to vote on any candidate for federal and state partisan offices.
		This system replaced California's "Closed" primary system where voters had to be registered with a qualified political party in order to vote for candidates from their political party who were seeking nomination to the partisan federal and state offices.
		However, under a new law, voters who are not registered with one of the seven qualified political parties, may vote a ballot for a qualified political party if that party has adopted rules allowing voters who are not registered with a qualified political party to vote their ballot.
	www.votescount.com /books/primary.htm (535 words)

	Initiative 872 - Preserve the Blanket Primary
		The Grange's research concluded that, in the primary election of 2000, a total of 13 minor party candidates for the legislature would have advanced to the general election had the top-two system been in place at that time.
		The "People's Choice" initiative establishes a primary system which will look nearly identical to the blanket primary system, yet which will also satisfy the constitutional standards set forth by the courts.
		As long as political parties attack the blanket primary, the Grange will defend the people's right to choose their candidates.
	www.blanketprimary.org (613 words)

	HeraldNet - One last blanket primary likely (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-10)
		That apparently means the voters will get one last blanket primary on Sept. 19, with a single ballot that lists all candidates and allows voters to select one nominee per office without registering by party -- and with ticket-splitting permitted.
		The party should allow one last use of the blanket primary in 10 weeks, coupled with promises of changes next year, said Senate Majority Leader Sid Snyder, D-Long Beach, and other leaders involved in the talks.
		Under the country's oldest blanket primary system, voters are allowed to choose one name for each office -- perhaps a Republican for governor, a Democrat for U.S. Senate and a minor party candidate for land commissioner.
	www.heraldnet.com /stories/00/7/12/12772823.HTM (866 words)

	Washington will appeal blanket primary ruling
		"The blanket primary is what fits right in with the history, the populist tradition and the sense of independence, the sense of `I vote for the person.' We're going to exercise every possible route to protect the blanket primary," Reed said.
		He proposed a "Washington Primary," based on the so-called Cajun Primary in Louisiana where the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party.
		The alternative might be a situation where there is no primary and all candidates are placed on one general election ballot, Reed said.
	www.citizenreviewonline.org /sept_2003/blanket.htm (706 words)

	The Primary Problem (Seattle Weekly)
		In the absence of the blanket primary, experts predict mass confusion and voter anger with September's election.
		While Washington used the blanket primary that allows voters to choose their preferred candidate regardless of party for 67 years, California only used it for two elections before it was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
		The Primary Problem — In the absence of the blanket primary, experts predict mass confusion and voter anger with September's election.
	www.seattleweekly.com /news/0434/040825_news_primary.php (1635 words)

	The Daily News Online
		Reed proposed what he calls a "modified blanket primary" --- one very much like Louisiana's Cajun primary, which throws the candidates of all parties on one primary ballot and advances to top two vote-getters to the general election.
		Reed's top deputy, Steve Excell, says the proposal "is the closest to a blanket primary we can get." He suggested that voters would have a hard time seeing any substantive difference between the old and new primary systems.
		Excell said it wouldn't cost any more to administer than the blanket primary and could be easily used by absentee voters.
	www.tdn.com /articles/2004/01/04/editorial/editorial.txt (513 words)

	The Daily News Online
		The so-called "Top 2" primary on the November ballot isn't a perfect replacement for the popular blanket primary the courts have declared unconstitutional.
		While the blanket primary put everyone on the same ballot and allowed voters to cross back and forth between parties, it guaranteed that a candidate from each party would advance to the general election, whatever the vote.
		It helped make the case that the state's primary amounted to a party nominating process, which the courts determined should be the exclusive property of the political parties.
	www.tdn.com /articles/2004/10/04/editorial/editorial.txt (509 words)

	DM: Blanket primary in California enticing to Mississippians
		Actually, what California called their blanket primary was an open primary, the idea Mississippi concocted over 30 years ago and Louisiana has had in operation the past 22 years.
		What always gets Mississippi's open primary version in trouble with Justice is that the proposal would eliminate fl independent candidates getting on the general election ballot by petition, a route popular with fl candidates beginning in the late 1960s and in the 1970s, but less so since.
		California installed its blanket primary as a result of a 1996 initiative adopted to the state constitution.
	www.olemiss.edu /news/dm/archives/98/9806/980608/980608ED3minor.HTML (806 words)

	A Washington Primary Primer (Seattle Weekly)
		Blanket primary: Voters may choose any candidate, from any party, in any race.
		March 2004: Anticipating that the blanket primary will be struck down, the Legislature passes a bill to create a "top-two" primary, along with an amendment that authorizes a Montana-style primary as a second choice.
		As expected, the U.S. District Court finds that Washington's blanket primary "on its face is an unconstitutional burden on the rights of free association of the Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians" and prohibits its use.
	www.seattleweekly.com /news/0448/041201_news_primary_primer.php (635 words)

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