At some point in your life, you may find yourself liking a candidate that is not affiliated with the political party you support. However, depending on the state you live in, you may also find yourself unable to vote for that candidate in primary elections due to your party affiliation. All you'll be able to do is hope that they'll make it through to the general elections so you'll have the opportunity to vote for them.
Many in the past believed that the solution to this problem would be to hold blanket primaries, which would give citizens the opportunity to vote across party lines. This article aims to provide more detailed information on what a blanket primary is and how it worked in the United States.
Figure 1. Having choices. Pixabay.
Blanket Primary Definition
A blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, are on the same ballot. Citizens can vote for any candidate regardless of their political association. Then, the top candidate of each party gets to move on to the general election.
Hazel is a democrat, but for the upcoming election, she identifies herself with the Independent senate candidate and the Democratic house candidate. In a blanket primary, Hazel is given the opportunity to vote for both the Independent candidate and the Democratic one.
This is different from a closed or open primary, where you can only vote for the candidates for the party you are aligned or registered with.
Let's think of Hazel again. When primary elections come around, she can only vote on the party ballot that she affiliates with. Since Hazel is affiliated or registered (depending on state policies) with the Democratic party, she will be given a Democratic ballot where she can only choose candidates that are Democrats, even though, in this particular election, she aligns more with one of the independent candidates.
Figure 2. Submitting Vote. Pexels.
Blanket Primary Examples
A few states have used blanket primaries within the United States in the past. Below are a few examples of blanket primaries used in the US.
Washington & Alaska
In 1935, Washington became the first state to use a blanket primary. Unlike many states, Washington did not make people register for political parties. Washington added the requirement that the political parties or independent candidates on the blanket ballot who were not registered in the state would have to receive at least one percent of the votes to move to the general election. Alaska followed Washington's lead in 1947 and implemented a blanket primary, which Republicans widely supported in hopes of getting more votes from moderates.
California
In 1996, Californians, via a voter initiative, voted in favor of Proposition 198 by 68%, which proposed changing California's closed primary to a blanket primary.
Tom Campbell & Proposition 198
As a moderate republican, Tom Campbell ran for California's Senate seat in 1992. However, he lost the race by very slim margins. Had more moderates voted, he would have most likely been the primary winner and possibly won the election against a Democrat. After his loss, he began to advocate for a blanket primary. Had it been put up for a vote in the legislature, it would have most likely been voted down. Therefore he decided to attempt to put it on the ballot as a voter initiative. In 1996, Proposition 198 was put on the ballot for California's residents to decide, and it was approved. Prop. 198 changed the way elections occurred in California from then on.
California Democratic Party v. Jones
However, Prop 198 wasn't accepted by everyone. Some parties wanted to keep people from other party affiliations from voting in their primaries, so they disliked this new development. The Libertarian, Republican, Democrat, and Peace and Freedom parties sued California's Secretary of State Bill Jones. These parties argued that the blanket primary violated their First Amendment right to association by not allowing people affiliated with the party to vote on their own party leadership. Jones argued that blanket primaries would increase political participation, and officials would be more representative of what the people want. The lower courts ruled in favor of Jones; however, the parties appealed the case to the supreme court.
In 2000, the Supreme Court took on the case and voted in favor of the political parties. Justice Antonin Scalia authored the majority opinion and stated that blanket primaries could possibly destroy political parties due to the fact that non-members of a party can effectively choose that party's leadership. He added that members choosing their own leadership is an essential function that went against the right to association. This ruling essentially made blanket primaries unconstitutional throughout the United States.
FUN FACT!Both Justice John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented the ruling given in California Democratic Party v. Jones.
Blanket Primary History
After blanket primaries were made unconstitutional by the supreme court, the non-partisan blanket primary, sometimes called a top-two primary system, emerged in the United States. It was adopted by California, Washington, and Alaska.
A non-partisan blanket primary is similar to a blanket primary in the sense that all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, are on the same ballot. However, the difference is that in the non-partisan blanket primary, the top two candidates move on to the general election regardless of which party they belong to. This means it may be possible for two candidates from the same party to move on to the general election.
Louisiana & Nonpartisan Blanket Primary
Louisiana has had a non-partisan blanket primary since 1975. However, in their blanket primary, if no candidate gets more than 50% in the general election, there is a runoff election between the top two vote getters.
Figure 3. Voting Pins and American Flags. Pexel
Pros of Blanket Primary
There are advantages to having blanket primaries. Here are a few examples.
Voter Freedom & Reduced Political Polarization
Blanket primaries encourage voter freedom because it allows voters to choose candidates that they align with instead of just choosing those that are within the party they affiliate with. Consequently, reducing political polarization.
Voter Participation
Blanket primaries increase voter participation because independents and those with no party affiliation have the ability to voice their opinion in primaries, something they may not have been able to do in regular primaries.
Better Representation
Increasing voter freedom and voter participation consequently leads to a better representation of what US citizens actually want.
Cons of Blanket Primary
As with everything, there are disadvantages to having blanket primaries. The following are some of the cons of a blanket primary.
Vote Raiding
Vote raiding is one of the disadvantages of a blanket primary because people from other parties, knowing who will win their party's candidacy in the general election, may decide to vote for a candidate that they know will lose against their candidate.
Less Third Party Representation
Third parties struggle to make it to the general election because votes are divided amongst all of the political parties, not just one, and due to this, third parties may not even come close to receiving the votes needed to move on to the general election.
Blanket Primary - Key takeaways
- A blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, are on the same ballot.
- Washington was the first state to use a blanket primary.
- With the approval of Proposition 198, California adopted the blanket primary in 1996.
- In 2000, California Democratic Party v. Jones ruled that blanket primaries were unconstitutional. In response, states moved to a non-partisan blanket primary.
- A non-partisan blanket primary includes all candidates on the ballot and the top two candidates, regardless of the party move on to the general election.
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