October 3, 2007
For Immediate Release Oct 1, 2007
Libertarian Party Eyes Victory in Supreme Court
Working in conjunction with the state Republicans and Democrats, Libertarian Party confident in Supreme Court win in Washington primary case
Washington D.C. – The Libertarian Party is confident that it scored a resounding victory on the first day of the Supreme Court’s new session. Working in conjunction with the Washington Republican and Democratic parties, the Washington state Libertarian Party is fighting Washington’s “top-two forward” primary system that inherently weakens state political parties and makes it virtually impossible for third party candidates to get on the ballot. “From everything we’ve heard here at headquarters, we anticipate a very favorable outcome for us in this case,” says Libertarian Party National Chairman, William Redpath.
“We’re hearing from inside the courtroom that the Libertarian Party had a very good day in court,” Redpath continued. “We’re confident the ruling will be in our favor. The implications of this case are paramount to the future of the Libertarian Party as a whole. Washington’s primary system dramatically limits the ability of a third party candidate to appear on the state’s ballot. If the Supreme Court upholds the lower court’s ruling, it will ensure elections in the state of Washington, as well as the nation, are more democratic and fair for all participants.”
The current “wide-open” primary system in Washington allows voters to select any candidate for office. The top two vote getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to fill the two spots for that office on the ballot. The state’s political parties argue that because of this system, the two candidates for governor could potentially be from the same political party. Libertarians, as well as Republicans and Democrats, claim this system weakens political parties because the government does not allow them to nominate their own candidates. Additionally, this system almost ensures a third party candidate will never make it on the ballot.
Lifetime Libertarian Party member and one of the nation’s top ballot access experts, Richard Winger, agrees with the three political parties. “It’s a must win case,” says Winger, who was present in the courtroom during the oral arguments. “Without a victory, the system would spread to other states.”
Winger says Washington’s blanket-primary system was struck down in 2000 after a Supreme Court case from California challenged the blanket primary system’s legality. Washington then developed the top-two forward primary system based on the majority opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia in that case. However, Winger says Scalia was not responding well to the state’s arguments for keeping their primary system and predicted Scalia would side with the political parties.
“The case went really well,” says Winger. “I’m absolutely convinced the parties will win.”
“The American government has historically had more interference with political parties than any other free nation in the world,” Winger continued. “In the past few of years, political parties have been fighting back. The Libertarian Party has allied three times with the two other major parties in Supreme Court cases involving party rights. The Libertarian Party has been a pioneer in bringing back freedom for political parties to run their affairs the way they want.”
The Libertarian Party worked with Republicans and Democrats for Supreme Court victories in 1999 and 2000. Today’s case marks the third time the three parties have come together since 1999.
As an example of how a primary system like Washington’s would undermine the efforts of third parties, Winger highlights the gubernatorial win by Jesse Ventura in 1998. “Jesse Ventura had less than three percent of the votes in the 1998 Minnesota primary,” says Winger. “But he went on to win governor for the Reform Party.” Winger then noted Ventura would have been prevented from being on the ballot had Minnesota adopted the same system as Washington.
“Today was a good day for all political parties across the nation,” Redpath concluded, “as it was for the American people, who want free and equal elections for all parties. We hope the Supreme Court will stand in our favor and strike this misguided primary system from existence.”
Today’s case was Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party.
The Libertarian Party is America’s third largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.lp.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.