Robert C. Wigton

This article attempts to establish clearer guidelines for governmental regulation of American political parties. Courts have long recognized the dual nature of political parties, sometimes appearing as arms of the government and sometimes as private organizations. Unfortunately, the courts have never provided a coherent framework to distinguish when political parties should be treated as public entities or as private ones. Today, most states regulate the internal mechanisms and electoral behavior of political parties. The author addresses important and difficult questions regarding First Amendment free association rights raised by state efforts to control internal party committee composition and structure.

The author examines the distinctions between the courts' treatment of the private and public sides of American political parties, identifying the various standards that courts use to judge party activities based on the nature of the activity. The author then offers a partial resolution to the public-private entity dilemma by finding a compromise between the competing standards of Constitutional judicial review. As the author elucidates, the more private or internal a party action, the more a state should face a "compelling interest" standard to uphold a regulation, while the state may face a lower burden when regulating party actions affecting the public at large.