358
Opinion of the Court
U. S. 208, 214 (1986). As a result, political parties' government, structure, and activities enjoy constitutional protection. Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Comm., 489 U. S. 214, 230 (1989) (noting political party's "discretion in how to organize itself, conduct its affairs, and select its leaders"); Tashjian, supra, at 224 (Constitution protects a party's "determination . . . of the structure which best allows it to pursue its political goals").
On the other hand, it is also clear that States may, and inevitably must, enact reasonable regulations of parties, elections, and ballots to reduce election- and campaign-related disorder. Burdick, supra, at 433 (" '[A]s a practical matter, there must be a substantial regulation of elections if they are to be fair and honest and if some sort of order, rather than chaos, is to accompany the democratic process' ") (quoting Storer v. Brown, 415 U. S. 724, 730 (1974)); Tashjian, supra, at 217 (The Constitution grants States "broad power to prescribe the 'Time, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives,' Art. I, § 4, cl. 1, which power is matched by state control over the election process for state offices").
When deciding whether a state election law violates First and Fourteenth Amendment associational rights, we weigh the " 'character and magnitude' " of the burden the State's rule imposes on those rights against the interests the State contends justify that burden, and consider the extent to which the State's concerns make the burden necessary. Burdick, supra, at 434 (quoting Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 U. S. 780, 789 (1983)). Regulations imposing severe burdens on plaintiffs' rights must be narrowly tailored and advance a compelling state interest. Lesser burdens, however, trigger less exacting review, and a State's " 'important regulatory interests' " will usually be enough to justify " 'reasonable, nondiscriminatory restrictions.' " Burdick, supra, at 434 (quoting Anderson, supra, at 788); Norman, supra, at 288- 289 (requiring "corresponding interest sufficiently weighty
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