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PLEASE educate yourself and VOTE!
My vote is currently with Ron Paul. My reasoning is I am terrified for our country and our earth if we continue on the path we currently trod. We need to get back to our Constitution. WHY do we love our country? Our freedoms.
What does our government what to take away? While espousing those same freedoms our leaders wish to nullify.
Types of Primaries (From Wikipedia)
Closed. Voters may vote in a party's primary only if they are registered members of that party. Independents cannot participate. Note that due to the appropriation of the term "independent" by some political parties, the term "non-partisan" is often used to refer to those who are not affiliated with a political party.
Semi-closed. As in closed primaries, registered Republicans and Democrats can vote only in their own party's primary. Semi-closed systems, however, allow unaffiliated voters to participate as well. Depending on the state, independents either make their choice of party primary privately, inside the voting booth, or publicly, by registering with either the Republican or Democratic Party on Election Day.
Open. A registered voter may vote in any party primary regardless of his or her own party affiliation. When voters do not pre-register with a party before the primary, it is called a pick-a-party primary because the voter can select which party's primary he wishes to vote in on election day.
Because of the open nature of this system, a practice known as "raiding" may occur. "Raiding" consists of voters of one party crossing over and voting in the primary of another party. Although no cases can be shown where this has happened successfully, the theory is that opposing party members vote for the weakest candidate of the opposite party in order to give their own party the advantage in the general election.
Semi-open. All voters may vote in any single primary, but must publicly declare which primary they will vote in before entering the voting booth. Typically this declaration is accomplished by requesting a ballot. In many states with semi-open primaries, election officials record each voter's choice of party and provide the parties access to the information.
Blanket. No longer in use, except in Louisiana, where a modified version is used. This system allowed voters to vote for one candidate per office, regardless of which party they were a member of.
Run-off. A primary in which the ballot is not restricted to one party and the top two candidates advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. (A runoff differs from a primary in that a second round is only needed if no candidate gains a majority in the first round.)
Some states have mixed systems. In West Virginia, Republican primaries are open to independents, while Democratic primaries were closed. However, as of April 1, 2007, West Virginia's Democratic Party opened its voting to allow "individuals who are not affiliated with any existing recognized party to participate in the election process" [1]
| State |
Primary Type |
Remarks |
| Alabama |
Open |
|
| Alaska |
Other |
Blanket primary for four of five registered parties. Republicans use closed primary. |
| Arizona |
Open |
|
| Arkansas |
Open |
Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party. |
| California |
Semi-open |
|
| Colorado |
Closed |
|
| Connecticut |
Closed |
|
| Delaware |
Closed |
|
| District of Columbia |
Closed |
|
| Florida |
Closed |
Deadline to register republican 12/31/2007 |
| Georgia |
Semi-open |
Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party. |
| Hawaii |
Open |
|
| Idaho |
Open |
|
| Illinois |
Other |
Must vote in primary of same party as last primary vote. Loosely enforced. |
| Indiana |
Semi-Open |
|
| Iowa |
Other |
Voter may change registration at polls. |
| Kansas |
Closed |
|
| Kentucky |
Closed |
|
| Louisiana |
Other |
"Effectively open. Top-two runoff system ("cajun primary") used. Closed primary used for Congressional races after 2006." |
| Maine |
Closed |
|
| Maryland |
Closed |
|
| Massachusetts |
Closed |
|
| Michigan |
Open |
|
| Minnesota |
Open |
|
| Mississippi |
Open |
|
| Missouri |
Open |
|
| Montana |
Open |
|
| Nebraska |
Closed |
|
| Nevada |
Closed |
|
| New Hampshire |
Closed |
|
| New Jersey |
Closed |
|
| New Mexico |
Closed |
|
| New York |
Closed |
|
| North Carolina |
Closed |
|
| North Dakota |
Open |
|
| Ohio |
Other |
Must vote in primary of same party as last primary vote. Loosely enforced. |
| Oklahoma |
Closed |
|
| Oregon |
Closed |
|
| Pennsylvania |
Closed |
|
| Rhode Island |
Closed |
|
| South Carolina |
Open |
Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party. |
| South Dakota |
Closed |
|
| Tennessee |
Open |
|
| Texas |
Open |
Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party. |
| Utah |
Closed |
Currently only Republicans close primary. |
| Vermont |
Open |
|
| Virginia |
Open |
|
| Washington |
|
|
|
| West Virgina |
Closed |
Currently only Democrats close primary. |
| Wisconsin |
Open |
|
| Wyoming |
Closed |
|
For information about a particular state's primary, the best source of up-to-date information is often the official website of the state in question. For example, California lists detailed information about its current "modified closed" (i.e. semi-closed) system on the California state website. [6] Similarly, information on the Arizona semi-closed primary system can be found on the Arizona state website. [7]
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