Information on election process of each state. Alabama No party affiliation required at registration. Open Alaska Parties select who may vote in their primaries. To vote in the GOP primary, a voter must be registered as a Republican 30 days before Election Day. Open Arizona Arizona uses a Presidential Preference system instead of a traditional primary system. Voters must be registered for a party in order to receive a ballot. Closed Arkansas No party affiliation required at registration. Open California California uses the Top Two Plan. On June 8, 2010 voters passed Prop. 14 to create a nonpartisan blanket primary system in which all candidates are listed on the same primary ballot and the top two vote recipients face off in the general election. R: Closed; D: Semi-Closed Colorado Only voters affiliated with a particular party may vote in its primary. Closed Connecticut Parties may choose to allow for semi-closed elections if they make a change to their party rules; however, as of now, the primaries remain closed. District of Columbia Closed primary for D.C. elected officials such as Delegate, Mayor, Chairman, members of Council, and Board of Education. Delaware Only voters affiliated with a particular party may vote in its primary. Closed Florida Only voters affiliated with a particular party may vote in its primary. Closed Georgia No party affiliation required at registration. However, on Election Day, voters must declare an oath of intent to affiliate with the particular party for whom they are voting on Election Day. Open Hawaii No party affiliation required at registration. In the presidential caucuses, any person may vote in the Republican caucus as long as he or she fills out a Republican Party card on that day; only registered Democrats may participate in the Democratic caucus. R: Open; D: Closed Idaho Until 2011, all Idaho primaries were open. After the GOP obtained a declaratory judgment that mandating open primaries violated freedom of association and was thus unconstitutional in Idaho Republican Party v. Ysura, the legislature passed a bill allowing parties to choose which type of primary they use. Democrats have chosen a semi-closed primary; unaffiliated voters may register a party at the polls on election day, but they are bound to that party affiliation at the next election. R: Closed; D: Semi-Closed Illinois No party affiliation required at registration. Voters declare their party affiliation at the polling place to a judge who must then announce it in a distinct tone of voice, sufficiently loud to be heard by all persons in the polling place. If there is no challenge, the voter is given the primary ballot for his or her declared party. Semi-Closed Indiana No party affiliation required at registration. Classified as a modified open primary. A voter must have voted in the last general election for a majority of the nominees of the party holding the primary, or if that voter did not vote in the last general election, that voter must vote for a majority of the nominees of that party who is holding the primary. However, there is really no way to enforce this, and cross-over occurs often. The same modified open primary is used for the presidential primary. Open Iowa Voters may change party on the day of the primary election. Closed Kansas Federal courts declared KS law unconstitutional and now the parties decide who will vote in their primaries. In 2012, Republicans will hold closed primaries; however, they will allow unaffiliated voters to register Republican on election day. Democrats will allow both affiliated and unaffiliated voters to vote. Closed Kentucky Only voters affiliated with a particular party may vote in its primary. Closed Louisiana Voters do not have to register by party affiliation. The congressional primaries changed from a closed system to an open system with the passage of Act 570, effective January 1, 2011 Closed Maine Only voters affiliated with a particular party may vote in its primary. Closed Maryland Parties may choose to hold open primaries, but must notify the State Board of Elections 6 months prior. Closed Massachusetts Affiliated voters must vote in the primary of their party; however, unaffiliated voters may vote in either primary. Semi-Closed Michigan Voters do not have to declare a political party to vote; but must vote for all one party once they enter the voting booth. Open Minnesota No party affiliation required at registration. Open Mississippi No registration by party affiliation. However, in order to participate in the primary, a voter must support the nominations made in that primary. Open Missouri No party affiliation required at registration. Open Montana No party affiliation required at registration. Each voter has the choice which ballot to use on Election Day. Open Nebraska For federal elections, affiliated voters must vote in the primary of their party; however, unaffiliated voters may vote in either primary. For partisan state-level elections, unaffiliated voters may vote in the Democratic primary but may not vote in the Republican primary. Semi-Closed Nevada Only voters affiliated with a particular party may vote in its primary. Closed New Hampshire Closed primaries in effect; but the statute allows for semi-closed primary if that partys rules allow for it. Semi-Closed New Jersey Only voters affiliated with a particular party may vote in its primary. Closed New Mexico Parties may choose to allow for semi-closed elections if they make a change to their party rules; however, as of now, the primaries remain closed. Closed New York Only voters affiliated with a particular party may vote in its primary. Closed North Carolina State law provides for closed primaries, but both parties have opened them up to unaffiliated voters, who may choose on Election Day. Semi-Closed North Dakota The only state without voter registration. To vote in the Republican caucus you must have affiliated with the Republican Party in the last general election or intend to do so in the next election. R: Closed; D: Open Ohio Voters right to vote in the primary may be challenged on the basis that they are not affiliated with the party for whom they are voting in the primary. Open Oklahoma Only voters affiliated with a particular party may vote in its primary. Closed Oregon As of February 2012, the Oregon Republican Party voted to partially open the Republican primary. The primary remains closed for the presidential and legislative elections; however, unaffiliated voters may vote in the Republican primary for the offices of secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer. Closed Pennsylvania Only voters affiliated with a particular party may vote in its primary. Closed Rhode Island An unaffiliated voter for the past 90 days may designate his or her party affiliation on election day by voting for that party in the primary. Semi-Closed South Carolina No party affiliation required at registration. Open South Dakota Parties may choose to allow for semi-closed elections. Democrats have opened up their primaries to allow unaffiliated voters to vote. R: Closed; D: Open Tennessee No party affiliation required at registration. Open Texas No registration by party; voters are not held to affiliation of past election. Each year, voters have a clean slate and must choose on primary day whether to vote by a party affiliation or as unaffiliated; voters are held to that affiliation in the runoff. For the presidential primary, it is the same system as of December 19, 2011. Open Utah Parties may choose to open up the primary. Currently, Republicans have a closed primary while Democrats have opened up the primary. R: Closed; D: Open Vermont No registration by party. For presidential primary, voters must declare which ballots they want. Open Virginia No party affiliation required at registration. Open Washington Similar to Californias Top Two system. R: Closed; D: Semi-Closed West Virginia Technically a closed system, but all parties allow any voter who is not registered with an official party to request their ballot for the Primary Election. Semi-Closed Wisconsin No party affiliation required at registration. Open Wyoming A voter can change his or her party affiliation on election day. Closed
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 12:22:48 +0000
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