Blanket primary

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In United States politics, the blanket primary (also known as a jungle primary) is a system used for selecting party candidates in a primary election. In a blanket primary, voters may pick one candidate for each office without regard to party lines; for instance, a voter might select a Democratic candidate for governor and a Republican candidate for senator. The candidates with the highest votes by party for each office advance to the general election, as the respective party's nominee. It differs from the open primary – in open primaries voters may pick candidates regardless of their own party registration, but must stick to one party's candidates.

Compared to other primary systems, the blanket primary is less restrictive for voters because it does not limit them to selecting from only one party's candidates. Mainstream political parties, however, saw this as a disadvantage because it discouraged party loyalty, especially among moderate voters who did not identify strongly with either party. The system also has potential for tactical voting: Voters opposed to one party might disingenuously choose a weaker candidate from that party, setting the candidate up to lose in the general election.

In 2000, the Supreme Court struck down California's blanket primary in California Democratic Party v. Jones. Similar systems used by Washington and Alaska were also changed. The blanket primary survives in modified form in Louisiana, where the top two vote-getters from each office advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. (Note: This Louisiana election law has been changed by Act 560 of 2006. Louisiana uses the closed primary to nominate congressional candidates.)

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