![]() Some state parties keep track of who votes in their primaries as a means of identifying their backers. Iowa, for instance, asks voters to choose a party on the state voter registration form, yet it allows a primary voter to publicly change party affiliation for purposes of voting in a primary election. This system permits voters to cross party lines, but their ballot choice may be regarded as a form of registration with the corresponding party. At the same time, it can create uncertainty about whether certain voters can participate in party primaries in a given year. ![]() This system gives the parties more flexibility from year to year about which voters to include. In this system, parties may allow unaffiliated voters, while still excluding members of opposing parties. In this system, state law permits political parties to choose whether to allow unaffiliated voters or voters not registered with the party to participate in their nominating contests before each election cycle. Independent or unaffiliated voters, by definition, are excluded from participating in the party nomination contests. This system deters “cross-over” voting by members of other parties and generally contributes to a strong party organization. ![]() In general, a voter seeking to vote in a closed primary must be a registered party member. Typically, the voter affiliates with a party on their voter registration application. In states without partisan voter registration, voters who are not bona fide members of the party may face penalties. See NCSL's How States Differentiate Presidential Primaries From State Primaries for which state primary rules differ from presidential elections.įor more information on primary elections see the report Primaries: More Than One Way to Find a Party Nominee. States often use different systems for how they conduct their state and presidential primaries: Some states hold their state and presidential primaries on the same day, some hold them weeks or even months apart, and some hold the two primaries on the same day but have different rules for each. For a list of all 50 states and their primary types, please see the table State Primary Types at the bottom of the page. Primaries can be categorized as closed, partially closed, partially open, open to unaffiliated voters, open or multi-party. The manner in which party primary elections are conducted varies widely by state. The laws governing state primaries are complex and nuanced, and state primary laws have been a cause of confusion among voters and election administrators alike.
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