Closed primary
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A closed primary is a type of primary election in which a voter must affiliate formally with a political party in advance of the election date in order to participate in that party's primary.[1][2][3]
Usage
Congressional and state-level elections
In 14 states and the District of Columbia, at least one political party conducts closed primaries for congressional and state-level offices. The map below identifies states in which at least one political party utilizes closed primaries for congressional and state-level elections. Hover over a state for additional details.[2][3]
| States where at least one political party uses closed primaries for congressional and state-level elections | ||
|---|---|---|
| State | Closed primaries | Notes |
| Connecticut | Yes | Section 9-431 of the General Statutes of Connecticut stipulates that only registered members of a political party are entitled to vote in that party's primary, though a party may choose to permit unaffiliated voters to participate in its primary.[4] |
| Delaware | Yes | |
| Florida | Yes | |
| Kentucky | Yes | |
| Maryland | Yes | State law stipulates that political parties can determine for themselves who may participate in their primary elections.[5] |
| Nevada | Yes | |
| New Mexico | Yes | |
| New York | Yes | |
| Oklahoma | Yes (Republican Party and Libertarian Party) | Section 26-1-104 of the Oklahoma Statutes stipulates that only a registered member of a political party can vote in that party's primary. The law does grant parties the authority to determine for themselves whether unaffiliated voters may vote in their primaries.[6] |
| Oregon | Yes | |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | |
| South Dakota | Yes (Republican, Libertarian, and Constitution parties) | Section 12-6-26 of the South Dakota Codified Laws stipulates that a voter who has registered with a political party can only vote in that party's primary. The statute does grant parties the authority to determine for themselves whether unaffiliated voters may participate in their primaries.[7] |
| Utah | Yes (Republican Party) | |
| Washington, D.C. | Yes | |
| Wyoming | Yes | Voters must be affiliated with a political party before candidate nominations are filed (96 days prior to the primary by statute) in order to participate in its primary election.[8][9] |
Presidential primaries and caucuses
2024 presidential primaries and caucuses
Ballotpedia is conducting research on presidential primaries and caucuses for the 2024 election. This section will be updated when the required information is available.
2020 presidential primaries and caucuses
The maps below detail voter participation rules for the Democratic and Republican parties in the 2020 presidential nominating process. Hover over a state to see additional information.
For information from previous presidential election cycles, click "[Show more]" below.
2016 presidential primaries and caucuses
In the 2016 presidential election cycle, political parties in 27 states utilized closed primaries and/or caucuses as part of the presidential nominating process. The map below identifies states in which at least one political party utilized closed primaries or caucuses as part of the presidential nominating process in 2016. Hover over a state for additional details.[10]
| States in which at least one political party utilized closed primaries or caucuses for presidential nominating process, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| State | Closed primaries or caucuses | |
| Alaska | Yes | |
| Arizona | Yes | |
| California | Yes (Republicans) | |
| Colorado | Yes | |
| Connecticut | Yes | |
| Delaware | Yes | |
| Florida | Yes | |
| Hawaii | Yes | |
| Idaho | Yes (Republicans) | |
| Iowa | Yes | |
| Kansas | Yes | |
| Kentucky | Yes | |
| Louisiana | Yes | |
| Maine | Yes | |
| Maryland | Yes | |
| Nebraska | Yes | |
| Nevada | Yes | |
| New Jersey | Yes | |
| New Mexico | Yes | |
| New York | Yes | |
| Oklahoma | Yes (Republicans) | |
| Oregon | Yes | |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | |
| South Dakota | Yes (Republicans) | |
| Utah | Yes (Republicans) | |
| Washington | Yes | |
| Wyoming | Yes | |
Support and opposition
The following quotes briefly summarize arguments for and against closed primaries. For detailed support and opposition arguments from a variety of sources, see this page Arguments for and against closed primaries.
| Arguments for and against closed primaries | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | Opposition | ||||||
| "Political parties at every level of government choose their nominees through primaries. That's the most important decision a party can make—and an organization's most important decisions should be made by members of that organization. Joining a political party in the United States is a pretty simple procedure. ... Allowing Independents and Republicans to select the Democrats' next nominees, or some other combination, is a good way to destroy a party and its meaning." -Seth Masket, University of Denver and the Pacific Standard (2018)[11] |
"We have had primary elections to select nominees for general elections at the local, state and federal level for more than a century. They began as an alternative to having party bosses at each level simply name the candidates they wanted. As the system has evolved, however, primaries have come to be dominated by ideological partisans who please the more agenda-driven elements in either party who are the most likely to participate in primaries. There is comparatively little incentive to reach out to voters who might fall somewhere between the two parties." -Ron Elving, NPR (2022)[12]
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The table below includes state legislation related to primaries introduced in or carried over to the current year's legislative session.
Bills are organized alphabetically, first by state and then by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
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See also
- Primary election
- Primary election types by state
- State primary election types
- Open primary
- Semi-closed primary
- Top-two primary
- Top-four primary
- Blanket primary
- Jungle primary
Footnotes
- ↑ Encyclopedia Britannica, "Primary Election," accessed June 13, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," May 26, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 FairVote, "Who Can Vote in Congressional Primaries," accessed June 13, 2023
- ↑ General Statutes of Connecticut, "Section 9-431," accessed September 14, 2017
- ↑ Maryland Election Law Code, "Section 8-202," accessed June 13, 2023
- ↑ Oklahoma Statutes, 'Section 26-1-104," accessed June 13, 2023
- ↑ South Dakota Codified Laws, "Section 12-6--26," accessed June 13, 2023
- ↑ CBS News, "'Crossover voting' in primaries in Wyoming is about to become more difficult," March 3, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia Legislation Tracker, "'Wyoming HB0103," accessed September 8, 2023
- ↑ FairVote, "Who Can Vote in Presidential Primaries?" accessed March 9, 2016
- ↑ Pacific Standard, "A Case for Keeping Primary Voting Confined to Party Members," March 19, 2018
- ↑ NPR, "In a time of national division, polarizing primaries are part of the problem," June 18, 2022
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