Balsam v. Guadagno
Challenging New Jersey's Closed Primary System
A coalition of independent voters and organizations challenged New Jersey's closed primaries, arguing that excluding 47% of the electorate — 2.6 million independents — from taxpayer-funded primary elections violated constitutional rights.
Nearly half of New Jersey's voters were shut out of the only elections that mattered.
New Jersey runs a closed primary system. To vote in a primary election, you must be registered with a political party. In a state where 47% of voters are registered as unaffiliated, that means millions of taxpaying citizens are excluded from the first — and often most decisive — stage of the election process.
In March 2014, a coalition of seven plaintiffs filed suit against the New Jersey Secretary of State. The plaintiffs included registered independents and nonpartisan organizations who argued that the state's closed primary system violated the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of unaffiliated voters.
If the state funds it, the state must open it.
The core argument was that New Jersey's primary elections are publicly funded, state-administered elections. Excluding voters based on party affiliation violates equal protection and the fundamental right to vote.
The district court dismissed the case, and the 3rd Circuit upheld the dismissal, ruling that states have broad discretion in structuring their election systems. The Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal. The legal arguments, however, became part of the broader constitutional framework for challenging closed primaries.
The 3rd Circuit upheld broad state discretion over primary election structure. The arguments remain active in other jurisdictions.
Key Milestones
Lawsuit Filed
Seven plaintiffs sue the New Jersey Secretary of State, challenging closed primaries as unconstitutional exclusion of 2.6 million independent voters.
District Court Dismisses
The district court dismisses the case, ruling that the state has broad discretion in structuring primary elections.
3rd Circuit Affirms Dismissal
The appellate court upholds the lower court ruling, finding that closed primaries do not violate the constitutional rights of unaffiliated voters.
SCOTUS Declines Review
The Supreme Court declines to hear the case, leaving the 3rd Circuit ruling in place.
What Balsam v. Guadagno Established
While the plaintiffs lost, the case built national awareness that nearly half of New Jersey's electorate is excluded from primary elections — a fact that continues to fuel open primary advocacy in the state.
National Attention
The case put a spotlight on closed primaries as a voter exclusion issue, not just a party rules issue.
Legal Framework Advanced
The constitutional arguments developed in Balsam became part of the broader legal strategy for challenging closed primaries in other states.
2.6 Million Affected
The case documented the scale of voter exclusion in New Jersey — nearly half the electorate locked out of publicly funded elections.
“When 47% of your electorate can't vote in a taxpayer-funded election, that's not a party rules issue. It's a voter rights issue.”
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Related Cases
Boydston v. Padilla
IVP challenged the state of California over the exclusion of independent voters from presidential primaries — arguing that taxpayer-funded elections must be open to all taxpayers.
Read the Full CaseThe court deferred to party autonomy for presidential primaries, and SCOTUS denied certiorari in October 2023 (144 S.Ct. 496). The case raised national awareness of the contradiction: voters fund elections they can't vote in.
Polelle v. Florida Secretary of State
Retired Florida attorney Michael Polelle challenged Florida's closed primaries on behalf of 3.4 million independent voters. IVP co-filed an amicus brief in September 2025 alongside Open Primaries, Forward Party, and Florida Forward Party. SCOTUS certiorari is pending.
Read the Full CaseIf SCOTUS grants certiorari, this could become the first Supreme Court case directly addressing whether closed primaries violate independent voters' constitutional rights. IVP's most live case.