Nonpartisan Blanket Primary - Candidate Party Preference and Ballot Disclaimer

Candidate Party Preference and Ballot Disclaimer

Because voters can vote in the first round for a candidate from any political party, the nonpartisan blanket primary has been compared to the original blanket primary which was used in Washington for nearly 65 years and briefly in California. The blanket primary was ruled unconstitutional in 2000 by the United States Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones because it required political parties to associate with candidates they did not endorse. The nonpartisan blanket primary disregards party preference in determining the two candidates to advance to the general election, and for that reason has been ruled facially constitutional by the Supreme Court in the 2008 decision Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party.

Chief Justice Roberts concurred in the 2008 decision, "If the ballot is designed in such a manner that no reasonable voter would believe that the candidates listed there are nominees or members of, or otherwise associated with, the parties the candidates claimed to “prefer,” the I–872 primary system would likely pass constitutional muster." Each candidate for partisan office can state a political party that he or she prefers. Ballots also must feature a disclaimer to voters that candidate’s preference does not imply that the candidate is nominated or endorsed by the party, or that the party approves of or associates with that candidate. Ballots with candidate preference are now used statewide in Washington State and California.

Subsequent as applied challenges were struck down by lower courts and on October 1, 2012, the US Supreme Court refused to hear appeals from Washington Libertarian Party and Washington State Democratic Party. Washington Republicans had dropped out of the appeal process earlier.