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Democratic Party v. Wisconsin
United States Supreme Court
450 U.S. 107 (1981)
Freedom of association refers to the right to associate with others who share common beliefs in order to promote common goals. It's one of the many freedoms the first amendment protects. In Democratic Party of United States versus Wisconsin, a political party argued that a state's election law infringed its associational rights.
In the nineteen seventies, the Democratic Party of the United States, which we'll call the National Party, introduced new rules governing the selection of delegates to its national convention.
These rules restricted participation in the selection process to democratic voters who publicly declared and recorded their party preference.
Under the rules, the delegate selection process included any procedure by which convention delegates were required to vote for the nomination of particular candidates.
Wisconsin election laws provided for an open Democratic primary, meaning that voters who hadn't declared a party affiliation could vote in the primary for Democratic candidates.
After the primary, the Wisconsin Democratic party held caucuses of people who'd publicly declared their affiliation with the party to select convention delegates.
Primary voters didn't participate in selecting delegates, but a Wisconsin law bound delegates to vote in accordance with the primary results.
This law violated the national party's rules by dictating that convention delegates had to vote for candidates chosen partly by non party members.
Because of Wisconsin's law, the National party told the Wisconsin party that Wisconsin's delegates wouldn't be seated at the convention.
Wisconsin's attorney general sued the national party on the state's behalf in Wisconsin's Supreme Court, seeking a declaration that the state law was constitutional.
Wisconsin argued that its open primary promoted compelling interests in preserving the integrity of the electoral process, providing ballot secrecy, increasing voter participation, and preventing voter harassment.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled for the state, declaring that Wisconsin delegates must vote in compliance with state law and that the National Party couldn't disqualify them because of it. The National Party appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
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Get more case briefs explained with Quimbee. Quimbee has over 42,700 case briefs (and counting) keyed to 988 casebooks ► quimbee.com/case-briefs-overview
Democratic Party v. Wisconsin
United States Supreme Court
450 U.S. 107 (1981)
Freedom of association refers to the right to associate with others who share common beliefs in order to promote common goals. It's one of the many freedoms the first amendment protects. In Democratic Party of United States versus Wisconsin, a political party argued that a state's election law infringed its associational rights.
In the nineteen seventies, the Democratic Party of the United States, which we'll call the National Party, introduced new rules governing the selection of delegates to its national convention.
These rules restricted participation in the selection process to democratic voters who publicly declared and recorded their party preference.
Under the rules, the delegate selection process included any procedure by which convention delegates were required to vote for the nomination of particular candidates.
Wisconsin election laws provided for an open Democratic primary, meaning that voters who hadn't declared a party affiliation could vote in the primary for Democratic candidates.
After the primary, the Wisconsin Democratic party held caucuses of people who'd publicly declared their affiliation with the party to select convention delegates.
Primary voters didn't participate in selecting delegates, but a Wisconsin law bound delegates to vote in accordance with the primary results.
This law violated the national party's rules by dictating that convention delegates had to vote for candidates chosen partly by non party members.
Because of Wisconsin's law, the National party told the Wisconsin party that Wisconsin's delegates wouldn't be seated at the convention.
Wisconsin's attorney general sued the national party on the state's behalf in Wisconsin's Supreme Court, seeking a declaration that the state law was constitutional.
Wisconsin argued that its open primary promoted compelling interests in preserving the integrity of the electoral process, providing ballot secrecy, increasing voter participation, and preventing voter harassment.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled for the state, declaring that Wisconsin delegates must vote in compliance with state law and that the National Party couldn't disqualify them because of it. The National Party appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
Want more details on this case? Get the rule of law, issues, holding and reasonings, and more case facts here: quimbee.com/cases/democratic-party-v-wisconsin
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