Primary Voting Requirements by State.

[TM99]

This has been coming up a lot in discussion, so I am creating a thread to collect this information in one place.

http://www.fairvote.org/research-and-analysis/presidential-elections/congressional-and-presidential-primaries-open-closed-semi-closed-and-top-two/

This link details the requirements for all 50 States. It is current as of 2012. Has this been changed in any state contrary to what is detailed here?

I will see if I can covert this table to a graphic and upload it here as well for easier and faster viewing.

As they appear in the replies to this thread I will add specific links to each State Election site for individuals to quickly see their own state requirements.


Arizona --

http://www.azsos.gov/elections/voting-election/election-information


More important links --

http://ballotpedia.org/Closed_primary

These 12 states all have closed primaries:

Delaware
Florida
Kansas
Kentucky
Maine
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Wyoming

[daleanime]

1. Any information is a plus.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. K&R! Terrific and useful information!

Thanks so much for posting this!

[BrotherIvan]

3. Perfect, just what we need to spread around

Bernie is attracting LOTS of new voters who need this information. Bookmarking to share.

[Enthusiast]

4. Thank you, TM99!

[madfloridian]

5. Here's more info from Ballotpedia. Seems 12 states have closed primaries.

The others are open or mixed.

http://ballotpedia.org/Closed_primary

Closed:



Delaware
Florida
Kansas
Kentucky
Maine
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Wyoming

[sabrina 1]

6. I was just going to post that link, but I see you found it.

It's probably a good guide, but no data is available after 2012 and they say that Parties often change their rules, it's probably a good idea to check just to be sure.

The chart in the link is a good one.

NY, my state, is a closed state. So anyone not registered as a Dem needs to register in order to vote for Bernie.

Thanks for doing this. Hope it gets pinned at the top of the forum!

[madfloridian]

7. Mississippi requirement...unusual.

Not sure how it would be proven if one didn't follow the rule.

Mississippi: Voters do not have to register with a party, but they must intend to support the party nominations if they vote in the primary election.

http://ballotpedia.org/Closed_primary

[Splatterpunk]

19. You must have forgotten the McDaniel vs Cochran Senate primary hilarity last year...

Sorry, Childers was the Democratic opponent.

Here's the relevant info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Mississippi,_2014

Go to the Republican primary...

[madfloridian]

20. I don't remember it.

I don't think I ever knew about it.

[Splatterpunk]

21. Yeah.. look upthread one more time..

includes the relevant link in Wiki...

[madfloridian]

22. Don't see a wiki link.

[Splatterpunk]

23. Here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Mississippi,_2014

[JDPriestly]

8. We need a massive voter registration drive especially in states with

closed primaries because a lot of people will want to re-register as Democrats just to vote for Bernie Sanders because of his stances on topics that are of interest to Independents and even some Republicans as well as Greens, Peace & Freedom, etc.

[sabrina 1]

9. Yes, that is true. People may not realize eg, that in a lot of states they

must reregister as Dems in order to vote for him.

[4Justice]

14. NPP (no party preference registration) in CA

For CA...in the last Presidential primary.....the Democratic party allowed NPP designated voters (No party preference) to "request" a Democratic primary ballot. The individual parties have the option to allow or disallow any of the parties registrants or NPP registrants to choose to vote on their ballot. There is a deadline...usually sometime in March for the Dem/Rep?Green?Libertarian...etc. to file a letter with the Secretary of State in Sacramento indicating their wishes. The Rep. Party in CA did not allow anyone other than registered Republicans to vote on their ballot in the Primary.

I know of some third party people that are adverse to registering as a Dem in order to vote for Bernie...so it is relatively "safe" for those folks to register as NPP and check and see if the Dem Party of CA is allowing NPPs to request the Dem ballot (you MUST request the Dem ballot, otherwise only NPP Presidential Primary candidates will appear on your ballot). This way one would not "feel"compromised in order to help Bernie win the Primary!

Go Bernie!!!!

[JDPriestly]

15. Thanks.

[fed-up]

32. thanks, the person that talked to our country did not relay the part about requesting a dem ballot!

That is very important information to have!! I will try to suggest to everyone that they register here in CA.

[TBF]

10. AFAIK, Texas is still open but you MUST declare to caucus -

and caucus is what got Obama the nomination in 2008. Hillary will be on top of this because it tripped her up last time. Important that dems across the country check as to whether your state has caucus & whether you need to declare for it (for all I know it's just Texas regarding the open primary but declare for caucus - this is the first time I actually went in and said I want to declare I'm a democrat". It is still on my voting card). Primary was during the day, caucus was at night - 2 separate events.

[left-of-center2012]

11. Are you sure this is this accurate?

I thought in the 'red states' you had to swear an oath to only vote Republican
or else you were denied registration.

[marym625]

12. Make sure your name hasn't been purged

Millions of names have been removed from voter registration by Republicans cross checking "duplicate names." However, they don't have to be duplicates. Or even close. They didn't even include middle names, never mind any other means of validation. Most are not duplicates.


http://www.gregpalast.com/look-up-your-name-on-the-crosscheck-voter-purge-list/

[4Justice]

13. CA NPP status

For CA...in the last Presidential primary.....the Democratic party allowed NPP designated voters (No party preference) to "request" a Democratic primary ballot. The individual parties have the option to allow or disallow any of the parties registrants or NPP registrants to choose to vote on their ballot. There is a deadline...usually sometime in March for the Dem/Rep?Green?Libertarian...etc. to file a letter with the Secretary of State in Sacramento indicating their wishes. The Rep. Party in CA did not allow anyone other than registered Republicans to vote on their ballot in the Primary.

I know of some third party people that are adverse to registering as a Dem in order to vote for Bernie...so it is relatively "safe" for those folks to register as NPP and check and see if the Dem Party of CA is allowing NPPs to request the Dem ballot (you MUST request the Dem ballot, otherwise only NPP Presidential Primary candidates will appear on your ballot). This way one would not "feel"compromised in order to help Bernie win the Primary!

Go Bernie!!!!

[Rhiannon12866]

16. Interesting information, thanks for posting!

As our most populous state, this could clearly have an impact on the election. I'm in New York and you have to be registered with a party to vote in the primary. Unfortunately, since I live in a heavily Republican area, too many low information voters then automatically vote for whoever has an "R" after their names in the general, the reason we now have a Paul Ryan protégée as our representative in Congress when we used to have Kirsten Gillibrand. *sigh*

Welcome to DU, 4Justice! It's great to have you with us!

[salimbag]

17. Hawaii

Last edited Fri May 29, 2015, 07:49 PM - Edit history (2)

When we go to vote in the primary, we can choose either the Republican or Democrat primary candidates. As long as Bernie is on the Hawaii ballot, anyone can vote for him. I should add, we cannot cherry pick, we must choose ONLY Democrat party candidates or ONLY Republican party candidates. Needless to say, the choices are pretty slim for the repubs, since Hawaii is pretty solid Democrat. Go Bernie!

On edit

I have been told that we must register as a Democrat to vote in the primary. I need to follow up on this. My memory of the last primary does not include anybody asking me if I was a registered Democrat. The paper form had all parties on the same page, just separated by party. They handed me the form and told me to vote for one party only. My choice. Does this make it an open primary? Will post what I find. Aloha

http://capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol01_Ch0001-0042F/HRS0012/HRS_0012-0031.htm
This is the info for primary voters in Hawaii. Just choose a party.

[enlightenment]

18. Nevada is still a closed primary state.

There was an attempt during the current legislative session (NV's legislature meets biennially) to change the current caucus format to a primary, but (unless some slight of hand occurs) it failed.

Here are details, via the Green Papers (a good compilation for all the states):

http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/NV-D#0220

[Kalidurga]

24. And don't forget to caucus if your state has a caucus...

and if you have to have a rep go and vote for your candidate in the caucus make sure your rep is pro who ever your group has chosen.

[ReallyIAmAnOptimist]

29. Right! 13 states caucus for presidential nominees...

...so their primary style is mute.
For those states we need their caucus rules added to the above links.

[hopemountain]

25. link: how & when to vote for Bernie (by state)

with dates by state for open and closed primaries.

http://voteforbernie.org

[TM99]

26. Thanks for that link.

I need to verify some of what they have there.

Arizona is listed as a Closed Primary state requiring us to register as Democrats or Republicans.

That is not accurate. To vote in the equivalent of a caucus in February, yes, you must be registered as D or R.

But in the primary, it is semi-closed. If you have no party affiliation, you can pick which one you want to vote in.

[hopemountain]

27. hmmm. thank you for pointing out this fact

the link went up 4 days ago… and if it is incorrect for arizona, then …. hmmmmm. it is correct for oregon.

now i am suspicious. the info for undeclared voters in semi-closed primaries is confusing.

and then there is this at the bottom:

"PAID FOR BY GLOBOCORP PAC
Just kidding, I made this for free!
The content on voteforbernie.org is not a reflection of Senator Sanders, his office, or his campaign. This website is made and maintained by a volunteer with no relation or association with Bernie Sanders."

if you think i should remove the link, i will do so.

[TM99]

28. No, don't remove the link.

I actually wrote the creator of the site with the correct information for Arizona.

If we can get the other states confirmed as accurate, then this is an excellent resource for those who want to vote for Sanders.

Let's just do more follow-up.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

30. voteforbernie.org

voteforbernie.org also gives a nice map.

[floyd1]

31. Thanks for the info

This is good info. Let's get everyone out to the primaries.

[lsufan59]

33. closed primaries

so does louisiana just changed to democrat to vote for bernie,was independent.

[SoapBox]

34. Rock the Vote...Voter Registration Tools

http://www.rockthevote.com/get-involved/register-voters/

Those doing voter registration and re-registration might find this very helpful.

[artislife]

35. NYers-great website to help change registration

http://www.ifyouwantbernie.com/NY/

How to change party alignment or register for first time.

Must be declared Democrat by October 9th!