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.

Types of Primaries

Open. Voters may vote in primaries of a party of their choice, the choice to be made at the voting booth.

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Closed. Voters may only vote in a primary if they are registered members of that party.

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Semi-open. Voters registered with a party may only vote in the primary of their party. Independents may choose which primary to vote in at the voting booth. Some U.S. states allow parties to determine whether independent voters can vote in their primaries. For example, in West Virginia, Republican primaries are open to independents, but Democratic primaries are closed.

Related Topics:
U.S. state - West Virginia - Republican - Democratic

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Blanket. No longer in use, allowed voters to vote in either primary, switching party primaries with each office (Ex. Republican Presidential primary, Democratic Gubernatorial Primary, Republican Congressional Primary).

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Run-off. If no candidate receives a majority (50%) the top two candidates may face off in a run-off election. This system is used in Louisiana for all state, local, and congressional elections. The word "run-off" can refer to either the system using a run-off election, or to the subsequential second election itself.

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Other ways that parties may select their candidates include caucuses and conventions.

Related Topics:
Caucus - Convention

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