Blanket primary

A blanket primary is a specific way to choose candidates in a primary election.

In a blanket primary, voters pick one candidate for each office without regard to party. A voter might vote for a Democratic candidate for governor and a Republican candidate for senator. The candidates with the highest votes by party for each office advance to the general election, as the respective party's nominee.

A blanket primary differs from the open primary. In open primaries, voters pick candidates regardless of their own party registration, but may only choose among candidates from a single party of the voter's choice.

Usage

Arizona

While Arizona does not currently use a blanket primary, voters will get to decide in November 2012 if the state switches over to such a system. An initiative appearing on the ballot would have candidates all appear in one primary, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election. Gov. Jan Brewer (R) is against the move, arguing it would weaken the election system.

California

In 2000, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down California's blanket primary in California Democratic Party v. Jones. Voters narrowly defeated Proposition 62, the "Modified Blanket Primaries Act," in November 2004. In June 2010, voters approved Proposition 14, a similar measure known as the "Top Two Primaries Act."

Proposition 14 requires that candidates run in a single primary open to all registered voters, with the top two vote-getters meeting in a runoff. The new system took effect in the April 19, 2011 special election for State Senate, District 28.

The main argument supporters made in favor of Proposition 14 is that it might cause voters to elect more moderate members of the California State Legislature. Opponents argue that in states where a similar system is in use, it has not resulted in the election of more moderate politicians, and that Proposition 14 will result in the destruction of California's minor and independent political parties.

As a result of the blanket primary, nine of California's 53 congressional districts will have same-party candidates battling in the November 6, 2012 general election. Of those, seven are between Democrats.

There will also be nineteen same-party races in the state legislature in November. Of the total 28 same-party contests, a study by the Public Policy Institute of California rated only twelve as actually competitive. Minor party candidates, meanwhile, were only able to make it to the general election in three races.

“What we’ve noticed is candidates in California playing to a wider ideological audience as a result of the top-two primary, instead of tailoring their message to a very narrow base," said David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report.

For example, during the 2012 elections, over a dozen Republican candidates in contested legislative or Congressional races refused to sign a pledge for no new taxes. Although it had been a GOP staple in the past, under the new system candidates worry it could hurt them with Democratic voters.

Louisiana

Louisiana uses what is known as a non-partisan blanket primary or jungle primary. Under this system, adopted in 1975 by then Gov. Edwin Edwards, all candidates are put on the same primary ballot. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, they are declared the winner. If no one wins a simple majority, a runoff between the top-two vote getters takes place on the general election date. This can often result in an election between two members of the same party.

The nonpartisan blanket primary system has been used consistently for partisan elections to state and local office, but was discontinued for congressional elections in 2008. However, in June 2010, Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) signed HB 292 into law, returning congressional elections to the non-partisan blanket system in 2012.

Example

The race below is from the 2007 Louisiana State Senate election, District 2. Three Democratic candidates faced off in the primary on October 20, 2007. Because no candidate received 50 percent, the top two candidates advanced to a general election.

District 14, 2007, Louisiana

October 20 General election candidates:

Yvonne Dorsey 11,398 a

Jason Decuir 9,915 a

Willis Reed, Sr. 2,019

Steven K. Schilling 477

November 17 General election candidates:

Yvonne Dorsey 8,701

Jason Decuir 8,608

Washington

Washington state voters passed Initiative 872 in 2004 to adopt the Louisiana-style nonpartisan blanket primary. This system has been used for all partisan elections since 2008. Under the law, all candidates for each partisan office appear together on the primary ballot. Candidates are permitted to express a party preference or declare themselves independents, and their preference or status appears on the ballot.

The primary ballot includes all candidates filing for the office, including major party and minor party candidates and independents. Voters are permitted to vote for any candidate for any office, and are not limited to a single party.

The general election ballot is limited to the two candidates who received the most votes for each office in the primary, regardless of whether these two candidates are or the same or different parties.

The Ninth Circuit struck down the initiative in July 2005, but the Supreme Court ruled on March 18, 2008 in Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party et al. that Initiative 872 was at least facially constitutional and could go into effect.

On January 22, 2010 the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian Parties filed amended complaints against the initiative, which were heard before a federal court in November 2010. In January 2011, Judge John Coughenour upheld the law, rejecting arguments that the system confuses voters who could interpret a candidate's party preference as an official endorsement by the party.

Democrats and Libertarians filed separate requests asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal. On October 1, 2012, the court announced it would not hear the challenge.

Example

The race below is from the 2010 Washington House of Representatives election, District 31a. Despite the fact that one Democratic candidate ran against two Republican candidates, the blanket primary system allows for two Republican candidates to advance to the general election.

District 31a

August 17 primary candidates:

Peggy Levesque 7,729

Cathy Dahlquist 9,151 a

Shawn Bunney 8,023 a

November 2 General election candidates:

Cathy Dahlquist 23,254

Shawn Bunney 20,479

Other terms

A blanket primary can also be referred to as a Top-two primary, Louisiana primary, Cajun primary, or jungle primary.

Arguments for and against

Compared to other methods of conducting primary elections, the blanket primary is less restrictive for voters because it does not limit them to selecting from only one party's candidates.

Mainstream political parties often see this as a disadvantage because in their view, it discourages party loyalty, especially among moderate voters who do not identify strongly with either party. The system also has potential for tactical voting: Voters opposed to one party might disingenuously choose a weaker candidate from that party, setting the candidate up to lose in the general election.

Academic papers

• University of Denver "Polarization Interrupted? California's Experiment with the Top-Two Primary" by Seth Masket, October 17, 2012

External links

• "History of the Blanket Primary in Washington", Washington Secretary of State, retrieved January 12, 2006.