Cite as: 530 U. S. 567 (2000)
Stevens, J., dissenting
the process of selecting their public officials—that are held by the litigants in this case. O'Callaghan v. State, 914 P. 2d 1250, 1263 (Alaska 1996); see also Tashjian, 479 U. S., at 222- 223; Luther v. Borden, 7 How. 1, 40-42 (1849). That choice belongs to the people. U. S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U. S. 779, 795 (1995).
Even if the "right not to associate" did authorize the Court to review the State's policy choice, its evaluation of the competing interests at stake is seriously flawed. For example, the Court's conclusion that a blanket primary severely burdens the parties' associational interests in selecting their standard-bearers does not appear to be borne out by experience with blanket primaries in Alaska and Washington. See, e. g., 169 F. 3d, at 656-659, and n. 23. Moreover, that conclusion rests substantially upon the Court's claim that "[t]he evidence [before the District Court]" disclosed a "clear and present danger" that a party's nominee may be determined by adherents of an opposing party. Ante, at 578. This hyperbole is based upon the Court's liberal view of its appellate role, not upon the record and the District Court's factual findings. Following a bench trial and the receipt of expert witness reports, the District Court found that "there is little evidence that raiding [by members of an opposing party] will be a factor under the blanket primary. On this point there is almost unanimity among the political scientists who were called as experts by the plaintiffs and defendants." 169 F. 3d, at 656. While the Court is entitled to test this finding by making an independent examination of the record, the evidence it cites—including the results of the June 1998 primaries, ante, at 578, which should not be considered because they are not in the record—does not come close to demonstrating that the District Court's factual finding is clearly erroneous. Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., 466 U. S. 485, 498-501 (1984).
As to the Court's concern that benevolent crossover voting impinges on party associational interests, ante, at 579, the
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