602
Stevens, J., dissenting
II
The Elections Clause of the United States Constitution, Art. I, § 4, cl. 1, provides that "[t]he Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof." (Emphasis added.) This broad constitutional grant of power to state legislatures is "matched by state control over the election process for state offices." Tashjian, 479 U. S., at 217. For the reasons given in Part I, supra, I believe it would be a proper exercise of these powers and would not violate the First Amendment for the California Legislature to adopt a blanket primary system. This particular blanket primary system, however, was adopted by popular initiative. Although this distinction is not relevant with respect to elections for state offices, it is unclear whether a state election system not adopted by the legislature is constitutional insofar as it applies to the manner of electing United States Senators and Representatives.
The California Constitution empowers the voters of the State to propose statutes and to adopt or reject them. Art. 2, § 8. If approved by a majority vote, such "initiative statutes" generally take effect immediately and may not be amended or repealed by the California Legislature unless the voters consent. Art. 2, § 10. The amendments to the California Election Code that changed the state primary from a closed system to the blanket system presently at issue were the result of the voters' March 1996 adoption of Proposition 198, an initiative statute.
The text of the Elections Clause suggests that such an initiative system, in which popular choices regarding the manner of state elections are unreviewable by independent legislative action, may not be a valid method of exercising the power that the Clause vests in state "Legislature[s]." It could be argued that this reasoning does not apply in California, as the California Constitution further provides that "[t]he legislative power of this State is vested in the Cali-
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