California Democratic Party v. Jones

Summary

Justice Kennedy concurred in the Court's judgment because California's blanket primary impermissibly forces political parties to accept candidates who may alter their doctrinal positions, burdening their freedom of association under the First Amendment. He also argued that campaign-finance limits on coordinated party expenditures deprive parties of the direct, open speech necessary to defend their positions against the State's intervention. Justice Stevens, dissenting, would have upheld the blanket primary as a permissible expansion of voter participation in state-run elections and reserved judgment on its application to federal elections.