Jones

— This is an appeal from the portion of a judgment which grants a peremptory writ of mandate commanding the Secretary of State to conduct primary elections to select nominees of the Green Party of California (Green Party) in accordance with two rules adopted by officials of the party in lieu of compliance with the procedures specified by the Elections Code.

One rule requires the Secretary of State to close the primary election to candidates for the Green Party nomination for specified offices as directed by an appropriate Green Party governing body (primary closure rule). The other, as modified by the trial court, requires the Secretary of State to include on the Green Party primary election ballot the category “none-of-the-above” and to deny certification to any nominee who receives less votes than are cast for that category (affirmative vote rule).

The appeal has merit and we will modify the judgment accordingly.

Facts and Procedural Background

On January 21, 1992, the Secretary of State notified the temporary chair of the Green Party that by virtue of having obtained the declared affiliation of more than 100,000 registered voters it was qualified, pursuant to…