WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the state of Washington’s open primary election system.
By a 7-2 vote, the court said the state may use a primary system that allows the top two vote-getters to advance to the general election, even if they are from the same party.
Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas said that overturning Washington’s plan would have been an “extraordinary and precipitous nullification of the will of the people.”
In dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia said Washington’s system would cause a political party to be associated with candidates who may not represent its views. He was joined by Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Under Washington’s system, all candidates for a particular office may list their political party preference after their names.
Lawyers for the political parties said David Duke has identified himself as a Republican, despite GOP repudiation of his racial views, while Lyndon LaRouche has called himself a Democrat, despite wide disagreement with Democratic leaders.
Thomas wrote that “there is simply no basis to presume that a well-informed electorate will interpret a candidate’s party-preference designation to mean that the candidate is the party’s chosen nominee” or that the party approves of the candidate.
He added that “we cannot strike down” Washington’s plan “based on the mere possibility of voter confusion.” A federal judge and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco struck down the election plan.
