The court of appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part a judgment of the district court. The court held that the State of Washington’s “top two” primary system, as implemented by the State, did not violate the First Amendment associational rights of the state’s political parties.
In 2003, the Ninth Circuit invalidated the State of Washington’s blanket primary system as a violation of political parties’ First Amendment freedom of association. The voters adopted Initiative 872 (I-872), creating a “top two” primary, as a replacement. The top two primary serves as a means of winnowing the candidates to two rather than selecting party nominees.
