California Democratic Party v. Jones
| California Democratic Party v. Jones | |
|---|---|
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| Argued April 24, 2000 Decided June 26, 2000 |
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| Full case name | California Democratic Party, et al. v. Bill Jones, Secretary of State of California, et al. |
| Citations | 530 U.S. 567 (more)
120 S. Ct. 2402; 147 L. Ed. 2d 502; 2000 U.S. LEXIS 4303; 68 U.S.L.W. 4604; 2000 Cal. Daily Op. Service 5083; 2000 Daily Journal DAR 6777; 2000 Colo. J. C.A.R. 3867; 13 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 479
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| Prior history | On writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit |
| Holding | |
| The Court held that California's blanket primary violates a political party's First Amendment freedom of association. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Scalia, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Breyer |
| Concurrence | Kennedy |
| Dissent | Stevens, joined by Ginsburg (part I) |
| Laws applied | |
| California's prop. 198 | |
California Democratic Party v. Jones, 530 U.S. 567 (2000), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that California's blanket primary violates a political party's First Amendment freedom of association.
In California, candidates for public office can gain access to the general ballot by winning a qualified political party's primary. In 1996, voter-approved Proposition 198 changed California's partisan primary from a closed primary, in which only a political party's members can vote on its nominees, to a blanket primary, in which each voter's ballot lists every candidate regardless of party affiliation and allows the voter to choose freely among them. The candidate of each party who wins the most votes is that party's nominee for the general election. A blanket primary differs from an open primary in that in an open primary, even though voters are not required to declare party affiliation and are given a ballot listing all candidates of all parties, the voter is restricted to voting for the candidates of only one party for all races on the ballot. In a blanket primary, the voter is free to cross party lines from one race to the next. The California Democratic Party, the California Republican Party, the Libertarian Party of California, and the Peace and Freedom Party have historically prohibited nonmembers from voting in their party's primary. Each political party filed suit against Bill Jones, the California Secretary of State, alleging that the blanket primary violated their First Amendment right of association. Jones countered that a blanket primary will intensify the election and allow for better representation in elected office. Siding with Jones, District Judge David F. Levi held that the primary's burden on the parties' associational rights was not severe and was justified by substantial state interests. The Court of Appeals affirmed.
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