What States Have Open and Closed Primaries

Written by Site Blog on August 26, 2011, 11:25 AM

 Open primary: Voters of any affiliation may vote on the slate of whatever party they choose. Typically these states do not have party registration at all, but they do prohibit voters in X primary from going on to participate in Y's primary or runoff. However, this can be difficult to enforce.

The primary issue is "crossover" voting, which can contribute to the victory of a nominee closer to the center or radically further away. It most often involves members of Party Y (either in an area dominated by Party X or when Party Y's nominee is a foregone conclusion) vote for the Party X candidate whose views are the most reconciliable with their own. This brings the race closer to the center and blunts the injustice of partisan gerrymandering, but the Democratic and Republican party establishments don't seem to like it very much.

Occasionally, there are concerns about straightup sabotage or "party crashing," which involves voting for the most polarizing candidate in the other party's primary to bolster the chances that it will nominate someone "unelectable" to general election voters in November. Examples include Republicans voting for Hillary Clinton in 2008 and Democrats voting for Sarah Palin in 2012 (if she runs).

Closed primary: Only voters registered with a given party can vote in the primary. Parties virtually always have the option to invite unaffiliated voters to participate, however, under the Supreme Cour unless that party decides to use a semi-closed system that allows unaffiliated voters to participate. Often the non-dominant party will opt to greet independents, spurned by the dominant party, with open ar

Typically, independent voters are left out of the process entirely unless they choose to sacrifice their freedom of association for the opportunity to have a voice in who is on the November ballot and ultimately representing them. Closed primaries may also exacerbate the radicalization that often occurs at the primary stage, when candidates must cater to the "base" and the fringe of the party are typically more motivated to turn out.

In a few states, independent voters may register with a party on Election Day, but they remain registered with that party unless they change it back to "independent." A couple of states even allow voters registered with one party to switch their registration at the polls to vote in the other party's primary. In these rare instances, a closed primary can more closely resemble open or semi-closed primaries than the closed primaries of other states.

Semi-closed primary: Independents may choose which party primary to vote in, but voters registered with a party may only vote in that party's primary. The middle ground between the exclusion of independents in a closed primary and the free-for-all of open primaries, the semi-closed primary mostly eliminates the concern about members registered to other parties "raiding" another's election.

Of course people who align with Party X may theoretically still vote in Party Y's primary if they just register as independent, but it appears most voters do not think that way. Moreover, the potential for subterfuge through tactical party registration is also present in the strictest of closed primaries.

Top Two/ non-partisan blanket primary: This method puts all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, on the same ballot. The top vote-getters then face off in the general election. This type of system is used in California and Washington, as well as in Nebraska for non-partisan election such as for the state's legislature.

Note on terminology: “Top Two” primaries are often referred to as “open primaries,” but that terminology has long been used in reference to the type of party primaries  in which all voters may choose which party’s primary to participate in. By contrast, the systems adopted by California and Washington eliminate party primaries altogether. They are more accurately described as “nonpartisan blanket primaries.” For those hooked on the “open primaries” language, it would be more precise and less confusing to at least call them “nonpartisan open primaries.”

The following is a running list of states by types of party primary, updated June 2011:

Click here for list of states