Nonpartisan primary
A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, which are segregated by political party. This is the first round of a two-round system. As opposed to most two-round systems, the "first round" is a primary held before Election Day, and the "second round" is not optional. A two-round system where the first round is held on Election Day is known in the US as runoff voting or top-two runoff.
Advocates claim two-round systems will elect more moderate candidates, as members of a minority party could vote for a more moderate candidate from the majority party, with some political scientists expressing similar views. However, empirical research on the system have found no effect on candidate moderation or turnout among independent voters. A first round with only two winners is also susceptible to vote-splitting: the more candidates from the same party run in the primary, the more likely that party is to lose.
The top-two system is used for all primaries in Washington and California. Alaska has used a highly-similar top-four primary with a ranked-choice runoff since the 2022 House special election.
Candidate party preference and ballot disclaimer
The nonpartisan primary is different from the partisan blanket primary. They are similar in that voters can vote in the first round for a candidate from any political party. The partisan blanket primary was used in Washington for nearly 65 years and briefly in California. However, the blanket primary was ruled unconstitutional in 2000 by the Supreme Court of the United States in California Democratic Party v. Jones, as it forced political parties to associate with candidates they did not endorse. The nonpartisan primary disregards party preference in determining the candidates to advance to the general election, and for that reason, it was ruled facially constitutional by the Supreme Court in the 2008 decision Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party.Chief Justice John Roberts concurred in the 2008 decision, stating: "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 they prefer. Ballots must feature disclaimers that a candidate's preference does not imply the candidate is nominated or endorsed by the party or that the party approves of or associates with the candidate.
Subsequent as applied challenges were rejected by lower courts. On October 1, 2012, the US Supreme Court refused to hear appeals from Washington Libertarian Party and Washington State Democratic Party. The Washington State Republican Party had earlier dropped out of the appeal process.
United States
Both Washington and California implement a two-winner nonpartisan primary by plurality vote.The plan is used in Texas and other states in special elections but not primaries. A notable example involved former US Senator Phil Gramm, who in 1983, after switching from the Democratic to the Republican Party, resigned his seat as a Democrat on January 5, ran as a Republican for his own vacancy in a special election held on February 12, and won rather handily.
There have also been efforts in Oregon to pass a similar law. However, the Oregon Senate rejected it in May 2007, and it failed in a November 2008 referendum as Measure 65. Oregon voters defeated it again in November 2014 as Measure 90, despite a $2.1 million donation from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a $2.75 million donation from former Enron executive John D. Arnold to support it.
Maryland has explored a top-two primary, erroneously naming it an open primary, such as in 2019 House Bill 26. Testimony was provided by several organizations, including FairVote and Common Cause, and independent constituents, and included statements about Condorcet systems, proportional representation and single transferable vote, and concerns that a top-two rather than top-three or more primary would not supply adequate choice for voters.
In Florida, an amendment to adopt the top-two primary was unsuccessful in 2020. 57% of votes were in favor but this failed to reach the threshold of 60% to pass.
Alaska
In the 2020 Alaska elections, voters approved Measure 2, which replaced party primaries with a single non-partisan primary, a top-four primary. The top 4 candidates advance to a general election that uses ranked-choice voting. It is used for all state and federal elections except for the president.California
California's blanket primary system was ruled unconstitutional in California Democratic Party v. Jones in 2000. It forced political parties to associate with candidates they did not endorse. Then in 2004, Proposition 62, an initiative to bring the nonpartisan jungle primary to California, failed with only 46% of the vote. However, Proposition 14, a nearly identical piece of legislation, passed on the June 2010 ballot with 53.7% of the vote.Under Proposition 14, statewide and congressional candidates in California, regardless of party preference, participate in the jungle primary. However, a candidate must prefer the major party on the ballot that they are registered in. After the June primary election, the top two candidates advance to the November general election. That does not affect the presidential primary, local offices, or non-partisan offices such as judges and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The California Secretary of State now calls the system a "Top-Two Primary".
Federal elections
The 2012 general election was the first non-special election in California to use the jungle primary system established by Proposition 14. As a result, eight congressional districts featured general elections with two candidates of the same party: the 15th, 30th, 35th, 40th, 43rd, and 44th with two Democrats, and the 8th and 31st with two Republicans.In the 2014 general election, eight congressional districts featured general elections with two candidates of the same party: the 17th, 19th, 34th, 35th, 40th, and 44th with two Democrats, and the 4th and 25th with two Republicans.
In the 2016 general election, the U.S. Senate race featured two Democrats running against each other and seven congressional districts with two Democrats running against each other: the 17th, 29th, 32nd, 34th, 37th, 44th, and 46th. There were no races with two Republicans running against each other.
California 15th Congressional District, 2012
The 15th district is based in the East Bay and includes Hayward and Livermore. Democrat Pete Stark, who represented the 13th district from 1993 to 2013 and its predecessors since 1973, lost reelection to fellow Democrat Eric Swalwell in the general election after Stark won the primary.Washington (state)
Along with California and Alaska, Washington had a blanket primary system that allowed every voter to choose a candidate of any party for each position. That kind of system was ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones because it forced political parties to endorse candidates against their will.The Washington State Legislature passed a new primary system in 2004, which would have created a top-two nonpartisan primary system. It provided an open primary as a backup, giving the Governor the option to choose. Although Secretary of State Sam Reed advocated the system, on April 1, 2004, the Governor used the line-item veto to activate the open primary instead. In response, Washington's Initiative 872 was filed on January 8, 2004, by Terry Hunt from the Washington Grange, which proposed to create a nonpartisan primary in that state. The measure passed with 59.8% of the vote in 2004. On March 18, 2008, the US Supreme Court ruled, in Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party, that Washington's Initiative 872 was constitutionally permissible. Unlike the earlier blanket primary, it officially disregards party affiliation while allowing candidates to state their party preference. However, the court wanted to wait for more evidence before addressing the chief items in the complaint and remanded the decision to the lower courts.
Washington state implemented this Top 2 primary, starting in the 2008 election, which applies to federal, state, and local elections, but not to presidential elections. There is no voter party registration in Washington, and candidates are not restricted to stating an affiliation with an established major or minor party. The candidate has up to 16 characters to describe on the ballot the party that they prefer. Some candidates state a preference for an established major party, such as the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, while others use the ballot to send a message, such as Prefers No New Taxes Party or Prefers Salmon Yoga Party. Since this is a "preference" and not a declaration of party membership, candidates can assert party affiliation without the party's approval or use alternate terms for a given party. Gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi's 2008 stated preference was for the "GOP Party", although he is a prominent Republican.
Washington state legislature, 14th district, 2010
First Ballot, August 17, 2010| Candidate | Party Preference | Support | Outcome |
| Norm Johnson | Republican | 10,129 | Runoff |
| Michele Strobel | Republican | 8,053 | Runoff |
| Scott Brumback | Democratic | 4,702 | Defeated |
Second Ballot November 2, 2010
| Candidate | Party Preference | Support | Outcome |
| Norm Johnson | Republican | 19,044 | Elected |
| Michele Strobel | Republican | 17,229 | Defeated |
In this race a three-way primary led to a two-way race between two members of the same party in the general election. With over 20% of the population voting for the Democrat and neither Republican winning close to a majority in the primary, both of the Republican candidates had to appeal to Democrats and other voters who did not support them in the first round. For example, incumbent Norm Johnson came out in favor of same-sex civil unions, moving to the left of challenger Michele Strobel, who opposed them.