Primary election

A primary election is an election in which registered voters in a jurisdiction select a political party's candidate for a later election (nominating primary). Primaries are sometimes open only to registered members of that party, and sometimes open to all voters. In open primaries, voters must typically choose only one primary to participate in that election cycle. Louisiana, U.S.A. is an exception. Until 2004 in the state of Washington, U.S.A., this was also not the case, and voters were able to vote in all parties' primaries on the same ballot, though not for more than one candidate per office. This "blanket primary" was struck down by the United States Supreme Court as violating the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of assembly in the case California Democratic Party v. Jones.

See also

• List of democracy and elections-related topics
• List of U.S State and Territory Primaries and Caucuses