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The March 5, 2002 Gubernatorial Primary Election is being conducted under a new election law called the Modified Closed Primary. Here's how California's New Primary Election Law will affect you! |
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| ¨ | *Non-partisan registered voters may choose to vote for candidates from one of the following four political parties. Only these parties have adopted party rules allowing this voting option. | |||
| • | Democratic Party | • | Republican Party | |
| • | American Independent Party | • | Natural Law Party | |
| ¨ | Partisan registered voters can only vote for candidates running for office in the same political party in which they are registered. | |||
| How did the law change? | ||||
| ¨ | Prior to 1998, under the Closed Primary law, partisan registered voters could only vote for candidates running for office in the same political party. *Non-partisan registered voters could only vote for non-partisan contests. Proposition 198, a State ballot initiative passed by voters on March 26, 1996, changed the Closed Primary to an Open "Blanket" Primary. | |||
| ¨ | In 1998 and 2000, the Open "Blanket" Primary law allowed all registered voters (including non-partisan voters) to vote for any candidate on the ballot, regardless of party registration. On June 26, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled California's Open "Blanket" Primary unconstitutional. | |||
| ¨ | In response to the Supreme Court ruling, the State legislature passed the new Modified Closed Primary law. | |||
| *Non-partisan registered voters - voters who are not registered with any of the qualified political parties (American Independent, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Natural law, Reform or Republican). | ||||