Do You Have To Be Registered With A Party To Vote In The Primary

The laws governing state primaries are complex and nuanced to say the least, and state master laws have been a cause of confusion amid voters and election administrators akin.The manner in which party primary elections are conducted varies widely from state to state. Primaries tin be categorized as either closed, partially closed, partially open up, open to unaffiliated voters, open or peak-two.

For more information see NCSL's State Primary Types Table or NCSL's study, Primaries: More than 1 Way to Find a Party Nominee.

Airtight Primaries

In general, a voter seeking to vote in a closed primary must first exist a registered party member. Typically, the voter affiliates with a party on his or her voter registration application. This organisation deters "cross-over" voting by members of other parties. Independent or unaffiliated voters, past definition, are excluded from participating in the political party nomination contests. This system generally contributes to a strong party organization.

Closed Primary States
Delaware	Maryland	New York
Florida	Nevada	Oregon
Kentucky	New Mexico	Pennsylvania

Partially Closed

In this system, country law permits political parties to choose whether to allow unaffiliated voters or voters non registered with the political party to participate in their nominating contests before each ballot wheel. In this blazon of system, parties may permit in unaffiliated voters, while still excluding members of opposing parties. This system gives the parties more than flexibility from year-to-year about which voters to include. At the same time, it can create uncertainty about whether or not sure voters can participate in party primaries in a given twelvemonth.

Partially Closed Primary States
Connecticut
Idaho	Oklahoma
North Carolina	Southward Dakota
	Utah

Partially Open

This system permits voters to cross party lines, merely they must either publicly declare their election option or their ballot selection may be regarded as a course of registration with the corresponding party. Iowa asks voters to cull a party on the state voter registration form, even so it allows a primary voter to publicly alter party amalgamation for purposes of voting on primary Election Day. Some state parties keep rail of who votes in their primaries as a means to identify their backers.

Partially Open up Primary States
Illinois	Ohio
Indiana	Tennessee
Iowa	Wyoming

Open to Unaffiliated Voters

A number of states permit just unaffiliated voters to participate in any political party main they choose, only do not permit voters who are registered with one party to vote in another party'south primary. This system differs from a true open master because a Democrat cannot cantankerous over and vote in a Republican party primary, or vice versa. New Hampshire requires that unaffiliated voters declare affiliation with a political party at the polls in order to vote in that political party'southward primary. In Colorado, unaffiliated voters must return just one political party'south mail ballot, or state which political party election they want at the polls. The choice is public data, although it does not change the voter's unaffiliated status.

Open to Unaffiliated Voters Primary States
Arizona	Maine	New Bailiwick of jersey
Colorado	Massachusetts	Rhode Island
Kansas	New Hampshire	Due west Virginia

Open Primaries

In general, but not always, states that exercise not ask voters to choose parties on the voter registration grade are "open primary" states. In an open primary, voters may choose privately in which primary to vote. In other words, voters may choose which party'southward ballot to vote, but this conclusion is individual and does not register the voter with that political party. This permits a voter to cast a vote across party lines for the primary ballot. Critics argue that the open main dilutes the parties' ability to nominate. Supporters say this system gives voters maximal flexibility—allowing them to cross party lines—and maintains their privacy.

Open Master States
Alabama	Michigan	Montana	Vermont
Arkansas	Minnesota	North Dakota	Virginia
Georgia	Mississippi	S Carolina	Wisconsin
Hawaii	Missouri	Texas

Top-Two Primaries

California and Washington use a "top ii" main format. The "acme-two" format uses a common ballot, listing all candidates on the same ballot. In California, each candidate lists his or her party affiliation, whereas in Washington, each candidate is authorized to list a party "preference." The superlative 2 vote-getters in each race, regardless of political party, advance to the general election. Advocates of the "top-two" format contend that it increases the likelihood of moderate candidates advancing to the general election ballot. Opponents maintain that it reduces voter choice by making it possible that two candidates of the same party face off in the general ballot. They also contend that it is tilted against minor parties who will face up slim odds of earning 1 of simply ii spots on the general election ballot.

Other Primary Processes

State and federal elections in Louisiana, and legislative elections in Nebraska, share some common traits with top-ii primaries, only are distinct.

In Louisiana, on the general ballot date, all candidates run on the same ticket. If no candidate receives over l% of the vote, then the top two vote-getters face a runoff half-dozen weeks later. One way to look at this is to say there is no primary election--simply a general ballot for all candidates, with a runoff when needed.

In Nebraska, legislators are elected on a nonpartisan basis. This means they run without a political party designation, and all candidates are on the same nonpartisan primary ballot. (This system is mutual for local nonpartisan offices throughout the nation).

Alaska has a unique top-four open primary system for state and congressional offices.

Presidential Primary Rules

States may have radically different systems for how they behave their state and presidential primaries: Some states agree their state and presidential primaries on the aforementioned day, some concord them weeks or fifty-fifty months apart, and some hold the two primaries on the same twenty-four hours merely have different rules for each main. See NCSL's State Primary Types Table for which state master rules also employ to presidential elections.