Also known as: political parties
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An organization of voters formed to influence the government's conduct and policies by nominating and electing candidates to public office. The organization enjoys associational rights that protect its internal decisions on membership, primaries, and delegate selection from undue state interference.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Alec learns that a city arts commissioner will select outside counsel for a fraud investigation. He immediately organizes a donation drive among his firm's clients and arts patrons, hosting events and linking support for the commissioner to better oversight of art matters while his firm submits a proposal for the work. The contributions create the appearance that selection rests on political support rather than merit.
A national political party challenges federal limits on coordinated expenditures with its candidates. The party argues that the caps prevent it from effectively advancing its platform through joint advertising. The court upholds the limits as permissible regulation of conduct rather than direct restraints on the party's core right to associate for political beliefs.
A Republican Party judicial candidate seeks to announce his views on disputed legal issues during the campaign. State canons prohibit such announcements. The party supports the candidate's challenge, arguing that the restriction burdens both the candidate's speech and the party's ability to communicate its platform through its nominees. The court strikes down the prohibition as an unconstitutional burden on protected political speech.
A state statute forces the Republican Party of Minnesota to allow any registered voter to participate in its judicial primary. The party objects that the rule burdens its ability to select candidates who share its platform. The court strikes down the statute because it imposes a severe burden on the party's associational rights without a narrowly tailored compelling interest.
National political parties raise unlimited soft-money contributions from corporations and labor unions for issue ads and voter mobilization. Congress bans such contributions to prevent circumvention of hard-money limits. The court sustains the ban because the parties' close ties to candidates justify regulation of their fundraising practices.
A nonprofit corporation funded by individuals produces a documentary critical of a presidential candidate and seeks to air it within the electioneering window. Federal law prohibits corporate treasury expenditures for such speech. The court holds that the First Amendment protects the corporation's right to make independent expenditures, equating it with the rights of natural persons engaged in political association.
A lawyer violates the rule when the contribution or solicitation is made for the purpose of obtaining or being considered for a government legal engagement or judicial appointment. Purpose is inferred from timing, client solicitations, and explicit links between donations and the pending selection process. Merit-based RFP procedures free from political influence provide a safe harbor.
No. Judicial conduct rules prohibit a judge from acting as a leader or holding any office in a political organization, even when the role is unpaid or labeled honorary. The prohibition applies whether the organization is a formal party or a group that endorses candidates and mobilizes voters for one party.
…of privacy surrounding the marriage relationship. We deal with a right of privacy older than the Bill of Rights—older than our political parties, older than our school system. Marriage is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring, and intimate to the degree of being sacred. It is an association that promotes a…
…limited to $1,000 a year; campaign spending by candidates for various federal offices and spending for national conventions by political parties are subject to prescribed limits; (b) contributions and expenditures above certain threshold levels must be reported and publicly disclosed; (c) a system for public funding of Presidential…
…in Poe v. Ullman , 367 U.S. 497, 550 (1961), as dealing with "a right to privacy older than the Bill of Rights older than our political parties, older than our school system." In Griswold v. Connecticut , 381 U.S. 479 (1965), the Court focused on the "sacred precincts of marital bedrooms for their privacy." Id. , at 485. In Roe…
…or flag to symbolize some system, idea, institution, or personality, is a short cut from mind to mind. Causes and nations, political parties
…J.). Ingratiation and access, in any event, are not corruption. The BCRA record establishes that certain donations to political parties
Supporting sources
A political party possesses First Amendment associational rights that prevent a state from forcing the party to open its primary to nonmembers unless the state shows a narrowly tailored compelling interest. Modest burdens, such as requiring voters to register as party members or independents, are usually upheld under a balancing test.
Supporting sources
Yes. A state law prohibiting a candidate from appearing on the ballot as the nominee of more than one party does not impose a severe burden on political parties' associational rights. The state's interests in ballot integrity and political stability justify the restriction under the applicable balancing test.
Supporting sources