In 1897, the great progressive Robert La Follette, soon to be governor of Wisconsin and “founding father” of primary elections, urged: “Go back to the first principle of democracy, go back to the people, substitute for both the caucus and the convention a primary election where the citizen casts his vote directly.”
Primaries certainly are a great step forward for democracy, despite their drawbacks. Equally certainly, variations have developed reflecting differences among the states. As the Supreme Court noted in Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut (1986): “The relative merits of closed and open primaries have been the subject of substantial debate since the beginning of the century, and no consensus has as yet emerged.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
