California Democratic Party v. Jones: Invalidation of the Blanket Primary

Abstract

This note will examine the Supreme Court's decision in California Democratic Party v. Jones and discuss its potential implications. Part II first traces the history of political parties' rights to freedom of association and subsequently discusses the history of parttisan blanket primaries. Part III briefly overviews the facts of the case. Part IV outlines the three opinions by the Court: Justice Scalia's majority opinion, Justice Kennedy's concurring opinion, and Justice Stevens' dissenting opinion. Part V discusses three possible impacts of the Court's decision: invalidation of blanket primaries and the questionable vitality of other primary systems, limitation of political parties' power to place candidates on the general ballot, and evaluation of both the formation and judicial review of initiatives. The article concludes in Part VI.