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Open primary
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An open primary is a type of primary where voters do not have to affiliate with a political party in advance in order to vote in its primary and any voter can vote in the primary of their choice. This does not include states where a voter may be able to declare their affiliation with a party at the polls on the day of the primary. A primary is only open if there is no requirement to affiliate with a party, regardless of the specifics of that requirement.[1]
Some states require political parties to conduct open primaries by law, while others allow parties some discretion to set their own primary rules and parties may hold an open primary.
Top-two primary systems, such as those utilized in California, Nebraska, and Washington, and variations of those systems, such as the top-four system used in Alaska and the majority-vote system used in Louisiana, are sometimes classified as open primary systems because voter participation in such primaries is not tied to partisan affiliation. For the purposes of this article, these systems are considered to be a separate entity. For more information about top-two primaries and their variations, see this article.
For information on voter participation rules for the 2024 presidential primaries and caucuses, see see here.
- Open primaries in use by stateStates where the Democratic or Republican party conducts an open primary
- Laws requiring open primariesState laws that require parties to conduct open primaries
- Support and oppositionAbbreviated arguments in support and opposition to open primaries
Open primaries in use by state
In 19 states, at least one political party conducts open primaries for congressional and state-level offices. The map and table below identify states in which at least one political party uses open primaries for congressional and state-level elections. Hover over a state for additional details.
| State | Open primaries | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Yes | Alabama voters may participate in any party's primary by declaring their preference for that party at the polls on the day of the primary.[2] |
| Arkansas | Yes | Arkansas state law gives parties discretion to determine participation rules. Both the Democratic and Republican parties operate an open primary. |
| Georgia | Yes | |
| Hawaii | Yes | |
| Idaho | Democratic Party | Idaho state law gives parties discretion to determine participation rules. The Democratic Party operates an open primary. |
| Kansas | Democratic Party | Kansas state law gives parties discretion to determine participation rules. The Democratic Party operates an open primary. |
| Michigan | Yes | |
| Minnesota | Yes | |
| Mississippi | Yes | |
| Missouri | Yes | |
| Montana | Yes | |
| Nebraska | Democratic Party | Primary participation rules in Nebraska vary by office type. State law grants parties discretion to determine participation rules for primaries whose rules are not otherwise set by state law. The Democratic Party operates an open primary for these offices. Regardless of party rules, an unaffiliated voter is allowed to vote in the primary of their choice for the office of United States Senator or United States Representative. |
| North Dakota | Yes | |
| South Carolina | Yes | |
| Texas | Yes | |
| Utah | Democratic Party | Utah state law gives parties discretion to determine participation rules. The Democratic Party operates an open primary. |
| Vermont | Yes | |
| Virginia | Yes | |
| Wisconsin | Yes |
Laws requiring open primaries
Laws in 14 states requires political parties to conduct a primary in which any voter may participate without affiliating with that party.
| State | Statute | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Ala. Code 17-13-7 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. A voter is bound to the party they voted for in case of a run-off primary. |
| Georgia | Ga. Code 21-2-224 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. A voter is bound to the party they voted for in case of a run-off primary. |
| Hawaii | Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 12–31 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. |
| Michigan | Mich. Comp. Laws 168.531 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. |
| Minnesota | Minn. Stat. § 204D.08 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. |
| Mississippi | Miss. Code Ann. § 23–15–575 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. A voter is bound to the party they voted for in case of a run-off primary. |
| Missouri | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 115.397 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. |
| Montana | Mont. Code Ann. § 13–10–301 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. |
| North Dakota | N.D. Cent. Code § 16.1–11–22 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. |
| South Carolina | S.C. Code Ann. § 7–9–20 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. |
| Texas | Tex. Election Code Ann. § 172.086 | A voter can become affiliated with a party by voting in a party's primary election. That voter cannot then become affiliated with another political party during that year. Party affiliation automatically expires at the end of the year. In case of a run-off primary, a voter is bound to the party whose ballot they voted in the primary. |
| Vermont | 17 V.S.A. § 2363 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. |
| Virginia | Va. Code § 24.2–530 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. |
| Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 5.62 | There is no partisan registration and any voter may select one party's primary to participate in. |
Support and opposition
The following quotes briefly summarize arguments for and against open primaries. For detailed support and opposition arguments from a variety of sources, see this page .
This section includes quotes briefly summarizing some of the most prevalent arguments for and against open primaries.
| Support | Opposition |
|---|---|
| "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)[3] |
"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)[4] |
The table below includes state legislation related to primaries introduced during (or carried over to) the current year's legislative session. The following information is included for each bill:
- State
- Bill number
- Official bill name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Sponsor party
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by state and then by most recent action. The table displays up to 100 results. To view more bills, use the arrows in the upper-right corner. Clicking on a bill will open its page on Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.
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See also
- Primary election
- Primary election types by state
- State primary election types
- Closed primary
- Semi-closed primary
- Top-two primary
- Top-four primary
- Blanket primary
- Jungle primary
Footnotes
- ↑ [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/476109/primary-election#ref140175 Encyclopedia Britannica, "Primary Election," accessed July 29, 2025
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed July 23, 2025
- ↑ NPR, "In a time of national division, polarizing primaries are part of the problem," June 18, 2022
- ↑ Pacific Standard, "A Case for Keeping Primary Voting Confined to Party Members," March 19, 2018
