Cross-filing

In New York the main candidates are usually the Democratic and Republican nominees, and the support of various minor parties is demonstrated by winning their nomination as well.

One rare exception was in 1944, when New York Congressman Vito Marcantonio was successful in winning both the Republican and Democratic Party primaries, assuring his re-election.

While the California State Legislature attempted to institute a looser test in 1911, by 1913, there was no longer any restriction on candidates filing in multiple primaries.

This marked the low point of post-war Democratic political fortunes in California, and brought into sharp focus the results of cross-filing.

[4] That same year, the Democrats, with funding from oil millionaire Edwin Pauley, filed a ballot initiative to abolish cross-filing.

In an attempt to defeat this initiative, the Republican-controlled legislature proposed a competing measure, retaining cross-filing, but requiring candidates to list their party affiliation on all ballots.

After the election, Stevenson enthusiasts, most of whom were volunteer activists rather than professional politicians, formed the California Democratic Council (CDC).