California Proposition 198, Open Blanket Primary Election Initiative (March 1996)
| California Proposition 198 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date March 26, 1996 | |
| Topic Elections and campaigns | |
Status Approved | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
California Proposition 198 was on the ballot as an initiated state statute in California on March 26, 1996. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported adopting a blanket primary election system in which voters choose one candidate per office regardless of the candidate's party affiliation on a single primary ballot. |
A "no" vote opposed adopting a blanket primary election system in which voters choose one candidate per office regardless of the candidate's party affiliation on a single primary ballot. |
Overview
Proposition 198 adopted a blanket primary system. In a blanket primary, voters choose one candidate per office regardless of the candidate's party affiliation. The top vote-getters from each party participating in the primary then advance to the general election.
Aftermath
The state's Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and Peace and Freedom parties filed suit against Proposition 198 in federal court, arguing that the blanket primary system infringed upon the parties' associational rights by allowing voters unaffiliated with a political party to participate in that party's nomination processes (California's parties had previously conducted closed primaries in which only registered party members were permitted to participate). A federal district court and appellate court rejected this argument, and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. On June 26, 2000, the high court voted 7-2 in favor of the plaintiffs, striking down California's blanket primary as unconstitutional. Similar systems in place in Washington and Alaska were struck down by later court decisions.[1][2]
Election results
|
California Proposition 198 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
3,340,642 | 59.51% | ||
| No | 2,273,064 | 40.49% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Proposition 198 was as follows:
| “ | Elections. Open Primary. Initiative Statute. | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ |
| ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Fiscal impact statement
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:
| “ |
|
” |
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is equal to 5 percent of the votes cast at the preceding gubernatorial election. For initiated statutes filed in 1996, at least 433,269 valid signatures were required.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "The Blanket Primary in California," accessed September 25, 2017
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "California Democratic Party v. Jones," June 26, 2000
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
