The California Open Primary: A Select Bibliography

LIBRARY Institute of Governmental Studies University of California 109 Moses Hall #2370 Berkeley, CA 94720-2370 510-642-1472 (voice) 510-643-0866 (fax) http://www.igs.berkeley.edu/

This bibliography was prepared for the conference, "California's 'Blanket/Open' Primary: Natural Experiment in Election Dynamics" held at the Institute of Governmental Studies on June 26, 1998. It is in two parts: journal articles and documents, and selected newspaper articles dating from the campaign for Proposition 198, the March 1996 statewide initiative that enacted the open primary.

The IGS Library call number is indicated, when available, in parentheses.

I. Journal Articles, Documents and Related Material

Alvarez, R. Michael; Nagler, Jonathan.

"Analysis of crossover and strategic voting," expert testimony in California Democratic Party v. Jones, 984 F. Supp. 1288 (1997).

"Ballot layout for blanket primary : pressure eased when additional state measures failed to materialize,"

The Seiler Report, v. 8, no. 3(Apr. 2, 1998), p. 2-3.

(A8484 v. 8, no. 3, Apr. 2, 1998)

Bibby, John F.

"The role of political parties in the nomination process," Commonsense, v. 4, no. 2 (1981), p. 21-32.

(A4596, v.4, no.2, 1981)

California Democratic Party v. Jones, 984 F. Supp. 1288 (1997).

[U.S. District Court Judge David F. Levi's decision upholding Proposition 198].

(97 01047)

Californians for an Open Primary.

Yes on Prop 198. [Text of campaign website downloaded 4/5/96 from the Internet: http://www.prop198.org]. 56 p.

(f 97 00275)

Carr, Craig L.; Scott, Gary L.

"The constitutionality of state primary systems: an associational rights analysis," Journal of Contemporary Law, v. 10 (1984) p. 83-120.

Cain, Bruce E.

"Report on blanket and open primaries," expert testimony in California Democratic Party v. Jones, 984 F. Supp. 1288 (1997).

Cohen, Jonathan M.; Sides, John M.

The Incidence and Importance of Crossover Voting in a Blanket Primary : Washington State Senate Elections, 1986-1996. Berkeley : Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California, Berkeley. (Working paper ; 98-6). 46 p.

(A1458 no. 98-6)

DiCamillo, Mark.

"Early measures of cross-over voting in California's 1998 open primary elections," Public Affairs Report, v. 39, no. 2 (Mar. 1998), p. 13-16.

(A0469 v. 39, no.2, Mar. 1998)

"Elections, open primary : initiative statute,"

California Ballot Pamphlet : Primary Election, Mar. 26, 1996, p. 32-35, 61.

(A184 Mar. 26, 1996)

Elving, Ronald D.

"Court lets decision stand on Alaska's open primary [U.S. Supreme Court]," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, v. 55, no. 20 (May 17, 1997), p. 1156.

(R.R.)

Fay, James S., 1941-

"California's open primary initiative," Party Developments, v. 1, no. 4 (July 1995), p. 2, 4.

(A9632 v. 1, no. 4, July 1995)

Gerber, Elizabeth R.; Morton, Rebecca B.

Primary Election Systems and Policy Divergence. 1997. Working paper available at: http://wizard.ucr.edu/polmeth/working_papers97/gerbe97b.html.

Geyh, Charles Gardner.

"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to : state intrusions upon the associational freedoms of political parties," Wisconsin Law Review, 1983, no. 1 (Jan.-Feb. 1983), p. 211-240.

Haeberle, Steven H.

"Closed primaries and party support in Congress," American Politics Quarterly, v. 13, no. 3 (July 1985), p. 341-52.

(R.R.)

Hedlund, Ronald D; Hedge, David M.

"Voting in an open primary," American Politics Quarterly, v.10, no.2 (Apr. 1982), p. 197-218.

(R.R.)

-----; Watts, Meredith W.

"The Wisconsin open primary, 1968 to 1984," American Politics Quarterly, v. 14, no. 1-2 (Jan.-Apr. 1986), p. 55-73.

(R.R.)

Jewell, Malcolm E.; Seligman, Lee.

"Voting in primaries : the impact of intra- and inter-party competition," Western Political Quarterly, v. 39, no. 3, p. 446-454.

(R.R.)

Jones, Bill, 1949-

Jones Provides Informational Packet on the New Open Primary... Sacramento : Office of the Secretary of State, 1998. Sacramento : Secretary of State, 1998. (California Secretary of State News Release ; May 8, 1998). 1 p.
Attachments: Questions and answers about the open primary (3 p.); How counties are implementing the open primary (3 p.); Guide to the open primary (brochure). [See also the Secretary of State's website: http://www.ss.ca.gov/].

(f A5808 BJ98:59, May 8, 1998)

-----.

Open Primary Initiative Withstands Court Challenge Lodged by Political Parties : Proposition 198 to Be in Place for 1998 Elections. Sacramento, : Secretary of State, 1997. (California Secretary of State News Release ; Nov. 17, 1997). 1 p.

(f A5808 BJ97:75, Nov. 17, 1997)

Lengle, James I.; Byron Shafer.

"Primary rules, political power, and social change," American Political Science Review, v. 70, no. 1 (Mar. 1976), p. 25-40.

(R.R.)

Price, Charles.

"The virtual primary : proponents of California's proposed 'open primary' want to give every voter the chance to vote in primary elections, but opponents of the scheme say it will further weaken political parties and allow 'enemies' to skew the results," California Journal, v. 26, no. 11 (Nov. 1995), p. 35-36, 39.

(R.R.)

"Proposition 198 : open primary initiative,"

in Analysis of State Propositions on the March 1996 Ballot. Sacramento, CA : California Senate Office of Research, 1996, p. 43-57.

(95 01057)

Ross, Michael.

California voters adopt an anti-party "open" primary," Party Developments, v. 2, no. 3 (June 1996), p. 5-6.

(A9632 v. 2, no. 3, June 1996)

Sides, John M.; Cohen, Jonathan M.

"Crossover voters - shoppers vs. Raiders : California experiments with a blanket primary," Public Affairs Report, v. 39, no. 3 (May 1998), p. 1, 10-13.

(A0469 v. 39, no. 3, May 1998)

Southwell, Priscilla L.

Open versus closed primaries and candidate fortunes, 1972-1984," American Politics Quarterly, v. 16, no. 3 (July 1988), p. 280-288.

(R.R.)

------.

"Open versus closed primaries: the effect on strategic voting and candidate fortunes," Social Science Quarterly, v. 72, no. 4 (Dec. 1991), p. 788-796.

University of the Pacific. McGeorge School of Law. Institute for Legislative Practice.

A Legal Assessment of the Open Primary Initiative (Proposition 198). Sacramento, Calif. : The Institute, c1996.

(95 01024)

Wekkin, Gary D.

"The conceptualization and measurement of crossover voting," Western Political Quarterly, v. 41, no. 1 (Mar. 1988), p. 105-14.

(R.R.)

Williams, Daniel C.; et. al.

"Voter decisionmaking in a primary election : an evaluation of three models of choice," American Journal of Political Science, v. 20, no. 1 (Feb. 1976), p. 37-49.

(R.R.)

II. Selected Newspaper Articles (Jan. 1996-May 1998, most recent first)

"The open primary : on June 2, voters for the first time since 1959 can jump across party lines ... [Editorial],"

San Francisco Examiner, May 12, 1998, p. A18, col 1, 17 col in.

Marelius, John.

"It's open season for voters : crossover primary puts candidates in quandary," San Diego Union-Tribune, May 10, 1998, p. A-1, 1498 words..

"Open system shakes up parties and politics," San Diego Union-Tribune, May 10, 1998, p. A-17, 554 words.

"Joint RNC-DNC statement on California's open primary,"

U.S. Newswire, Apr. 14, 1998. 442 words. Available via LEXIS-NEXIS online service.

Martin, Hugo.

"Candidates plan open-primary strategies," Los Angeles Times, Feb. 22, 1998, p. A1, 1001 words.

Wilcox, Jonathan.

"Republicans stand to benefit the most from Proposition 198," Sacramento Bee, Dec. 30, 1997, p. B7, 849 words.

Schnur, Dan.

"Rigging primary rules won't get out voters; moderates lack clout because they lack the passion that energizes campaigns [California open primary law at issue, Column]," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 23, 1997, p. M5, col 6, 16 col in.

Press, Bill.

"Open primary isn't reform, it's open season on reason [Column]," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 21, 1997, p. B9, col 1, 14 col in.

"Open primaries : a jolt for some but a good change : court is right to uphold constitutionality of Prop. 198 [Editorial],"

Los Angeles Times, Nov. 20, 1997, p. B8, 496 words.

Skelton, George.

"Open primary : a whole new political game [in California, Column],"

Los Angeles Times, Nov. 20, 1997, p. A3, col 1, 15 col in.

Wilgoren, Jodi.

"Open primary confuses race for president [California open primary laws create uncertainty with the two major parties]," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 19, 1997, p. A1, col 3, 32 col in.

"California judge backs open primary election [Federal Judge David Levi upholds passage of Proposition 198],"

New York Times, Nov. 18, 1997, p. A18(L), col 1, 4 col in.

"In setback for parties, judge upholds open primary election [Judge David Levi's ruling in California, National Pages],"

New York Times, Nov. 18, 1997, p. A17(N), col 1, 9 col in.

Lesher, Dave.

"State's radical shift to an open primary upheld : ruling on Prop. 198 is called major defeat for political parties; experts expect the landscape of the 1998 elections to be drastically altered." Los Angeles Times, Nov. 18, 1997, p. A1, col 5, 40 col in.

Morain, Dan; Barabak, Mark Z.

"Ruling may benefit moderates: backers say decision to uphold Proposition 198 will nudge voters toward the middle [open primary for California upheld by U.S. District Court Judge David Levi]," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 18, 1997, p. A3, col 1, 16 col in.

"Prop. 198 didn't plan on this [open primary legislation would prevent presidential primary election in 2000, Editorial],"

Los Angeles Times, Aug. 19, 1997, p.B6, col 1, 8 col in.

Gaouette, Nicole.

"Liberals for Buchanan? Maybe in California [court case over open primary law]," Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 5, 1997, p. 3, col 4, 10 col in.

Jacobs, John.

"'Open primary' law jeopardizes presidential primary," Sacramento Bee, July 31, 1997, p. B9, 1374 words.

Lesher, Dave.

"Unlikely allies battle open primaries in court," Los Angeles Times, July 29, 1997, p. A3, 792 words.

Jacobs, John.

"Voters want 'open' primaries : politicians don't," Sacramento Bee, June 24, 1997, p. B7, 1254 words.

Braun, Gerry.

"Registrars wrestle with open primaries : officials are finding design of new ballots poses big challenges," San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 29, 1996, p. A-3, 1077 words.

Broder, David S.

"Togetherness, California style [passage of the open primary initiative will radically restructure politics, Column]," Washington Post, Apr. 3, 1996, p. A19, col 2, 16 col in.

Del Olmo, Frank.

The machines' days are numbered [an open primary in California will give independent candidates more power, Column]," Los Angeles Times, Apr. 1, 1996, p. B5, col 3, 16 col in.

Morain, Dan.

"Open primary's impact big, but unpredictable [passage of initiative in California will change party politics," Los Angeles Times, Mar. 28, 1996, p. A1, col 2, 40 col in.

Decker, Cathleen.

"Voters back school bond and open primary issues [Los Angeles Times poll finds that Californians favor Propositions 198 and 203 in upcoming primary]," Los Angeles Times, Mar. 20, 1996, p. A1, col 5, 21 col in.

Stall, Bill.

"Rival parties unite against open primary [Proposition 198 in upcoming California primary, The California Vote]," Los Angeles Times, Mar. 20, 1996, p. A3, col 3, 30 col in.

"Prop. 198, for the sake of political moderation [California Open Primary Initiative, Decision '95, Editorial],"

Los Angeles Times, Mar. 18, 1996, p. B4, col 1, 10 col in.

Lesher, Dave.

"Bill proposes changes in new open primary law [California elections]," Los Angeles Times, Mar. 1, 1997, p. A23, col 1, 7 col in.

Barabak, Mark Z.; Lesher, Dave.

"Amid new open primary law, GOP considers changing rules [California Republican Party]," Los Angeles Times, Feb. 23, 1997, p. A3, col 2, 20 col in.

Stall, Bill.

"Party heads oppose open primary idea [California Democratic and Republican leaders parties oppose Proposition 198]," Los Angeles Times, Feb 15, 1996, p. A3, col 4, 13 col in.

Baker, Peter.

"Va. GOP to challenge open-primary law [Virginia Republican Party wants primary restricted to Republicans]," Washington Post, Jan. 27, 1996, p. C2, col 4, 10 col in.

Skelton, George.

"'Open' primary would shake up state's elections [California Proposition 187 would let state residents vote in any party's primary, without regard to their registered party affiliation, Column]," Los Angeles Times, Jan. 18, 1996, p. A3, col 1, 18 col in.