NONPARTISAN BLANKET PRIMARY

(Redirected from Jungle primary)
A 'nonpartisan blanket primary' (also known as a 'Louisiana primary' or 'jungle primary') is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party.
This format has only been used for regular elections in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 1976 House and Senate elections were the last in Louisiana under the closed primary system for approximately 30 years. Starting in the 1978 House and Senate elections were switched to the nonpartisan blanket primary format, which had already begun for state elections in 1975. The only labels permitted under the Louisiana law were "Democrat," "Republican," and "No Party."
There was a second round (runoff) between the top two candidates if no one won a simple majority (at least 50 percent plus one vote) in the first round of balloting. This happened more often with open seats, as incumbents more easily won majorities. That runoff constituted the "general election" under Louisiana law even if the "general election" had two candidates of the same party, a phenomenon which frequently occurred.
The nonpartisan blanket primary was adopted by the Louisiana State Legislature at the insistence of powerful Democratic Governor Edwin Edwards (1972-1980; 1984-1988; 1992-1996) as a way to reduce growing Republican strength in traditionally Democratic Louisiana. The plan, in the long run, did not achieve that particular purpose, but it did keep candidates from having to undergo three possibly contested elections to win office.
The nonpartisan blanket primary was never used for presidential primaries in Louisiana because national party rules forbid it. To participate in presidential primaries, Louisiana voters must be registered members of their party at least 30 days before the election. Federal courts have upheld the constitutionality of the unique Louisiana system.
This system was held to be in violation of federal law in 1997 by the Supreme Court in ''Foster v. Love''. After the decision, Louisiana moved the congressional primary date to November and the run-off to December. In May 2005, Louisiana passed a law moving the primary back to October, with provisions intended to follow federal law. Experts are skeptical on if this change will be allowed.
The plan is also used in Texas and some other states in special elections, but not primaries. California, Alaska, and Washington have used similar systems, and there is an effort in Oregon to pass a similar law; the Oregon Senate rejected it in May of 2007, but its proponents plan an initiative movement in 2008.
Sometimes the Louisiana system has been called an "open primary", but that name is also used for a form of partisan primary that is "open" to unaffiliated voters.
In June 2006 Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco signed Senate Bill No. 18, which became Act No. 560 into law. Starting in 2008 Congressional races are returned to the closed primary system. The nonpartisan primary will, however, remain for state and local races, including the 2007 governor's race.

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Example

References

Example

Primary Election	Runoff Election
October 19, 1991	November 16, 1991
Edwin Edwards (D) - 523,096 (33.8%)	Edwin Edwards (D) - 1,057,031 (61.2%)
David Duke (R) - 491,342 (31.7%)	David Duke (R) - 671,009 (38.8%)
Buddy Roemer (R) - 410,690 (26.5%)
Clyde Holloway (R) - 82,683 (5.3%)
Sam Jones (D) - 11,847 (0.8%)
Ed Karst (D) - 9,663 (0.6%)
Fred Dent (D) - 7,835 (0.5%)
Anne Thompson (R) - 4,118 (0.3%)
Jim Crowley (D) - 4,000 (0.3%)
Albert Henderson Powell (D) - 2,053 (0.1%)
Ronnie Glynn Johnson (D) - 1,372 (0.1%)
Ken "Cousin Ken" Lewis (D) - 1,006 (0.1%)

References

# Senate Bill No. 18
# Oregon Senate Bill Votes
# SB18 - 2006 Regular Session (Act 560)