blanket primary

politics

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 22, 2026

Quick Summary

The term "blanket primary" refers to a type of election in the United States where all candidates, regardless of their party affiliation, run together. Voters can cast a ballot for a single candidate for each office, potentially choosing a Democrat for one position and a Republican for another. The candidate with the most votes for each office then advances to the general election as their party's nominee.

This system, initially adopted by Washington state, was later declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court ruled that it violated the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of association for political parties. Following this, Washington implemented a modified system where the top two vote-getters for each office, regardless of party, advance to the general election. California adopted a similar system.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

primary election
…state of Washington employed a blanket primary, which enabled voters to select one candidate per office irrespective of party affiliation, with the top vote getter from each party advancing to the general election. In 2003 the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Washington’s primary was unconstitutional, on the…
Read More
…state of Washington employed a blanket primary, which enabled voters to select one candidate per office irrespective of party affiliation, with the top vote getter from each party advancing to the general election. In 2003 the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Washington’s primary was unconstitutional, on the…
Read More

Washington
Constitutional framework
…in Washington is the “blanket primary,” which replaced the closed primary in 1935 and permits citizens to vote for any candidate without disclosing their party membership. This law reflects a characteristic independence among the state’s voters. Split voting has been reported by three-fourths of the voters in both primaries…
Read More
…in Washington is the “blanket primary,” which replaced the closed primary in 1935 and permits citizens to vote for any candidate without disclosing their party membership. This law reflects a characteristic independence among the state’s voters. Split voting has been reported by three-fourths of the voters in both primaries…
Read More