Open primary

Primary election
Primary elections by state
Types of primaries: Closed primary, Open primary, Semi-closed primary, Top-two primary, Blanket primary

An open primary is any primary election in which a voter either does not have to formally affiliate with a political party in order to vote in its primary or can declare his or her affiliation with a party at the polls on the day of the primary even if the voter was previously affiliated with a different party.

HIGHLIGHTS

In 22 states, at least one political party conducts open primaries for congressional and state-level offices. In 20 of these states, all political parties conduct open primaries.

In the 2016 presidential election cycle, political parties in 23 states utilized open primaries and/or caucuses as part of the presidential nominating process.

Top-two primary systems, such as those utilized in California and Washington, 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, a top-two primary is considered a separate entity. For more information about top-two primaries, see this article.

Primary elections, 2018

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering primary elections

In November 2018, voters across the United States will go to the polls to elect thousands of public officials, including 6,066 state legislators, 435 United States Representatives, 33 United States Senators, 36 governors, and 162 other state executive officials. Before then, however, a series of primary elections will take place to determine parties' nominees for office — and, more broadly, the direction that the parties will take moving forward. Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of these primaries. Select one of the articles listed below to learn more.

• U.S. House primary races to watch, 2018
• U.S. Senate primary races to watch, 2018
• State executive official elections, 2018
• State legislative elections, 2018

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Usage

Congressional and state-level elections

In 22 states, at least one political party conducts open primaries for congressional and state-level offices. In 20 of these states, all political parties conduct open primaries. The map below identifies states in which at least one political party utilizes open primaries for congressional and state-level elections. Hover over a state for additional details.

States in which at least one political party utilizes open primaries for congressional and state-level elections
State	Open primaries	Notes
Alabama	Yes (Republican Party)	Section 17-13-7 of the Code of Alabama stipulates that political parties "shall have the right, power, and authority to fix and prescribe the political or other qualifications of its own members and shall, in its own way, declare and determine who shall be entitled and qualified to vote in such primary election."
Alaska	Yes (Democratic, Libertarian, and Alaskan Independence parties)	State law stipulates that political parties can determine for themselves who may participate in their primary elections.
Arkansas	Yes	N/A
Georgia	Yes	N/A
Hawaii	Yes	N/A
Illinois	Yes	A voter must publicly state his or her affiliation at the polling place in order to vote in a party's primary.
Indiana	Yes	Section 3-10-1-6 of the Indiana Code stipulates that, in order to participate in a party's primary, a voter must have either voted for a majority of that party's nominees in the last general election or must intend to vote for a majority of the party's nominees in the upcoming general election. According to FairVote, which classifies Indiana as an open primary state, this provision of the law is unenforceable due to the nature of secret balloting.
Iowa	Yes	Section 43.38 of the Iowa Code stipulates that only registered party members can vote in a party's primary. Section 43.42 of the Iowa Code stipulates that a voter may change his or her party affiliation at the polls on primary election day and vote in the primary of a party other than the one to which he or she formerly belonged.
Michigan	Yes	N/A
Minnesota	Yes	N/A
Mississippi	Yes	N/A
Missouri	Yes	N/A
Montana	Yes	N/A
North Dakota	Yes	N/A
Ohio	Yes	According to FairVote, a voter can "choose a party affiliation on the day of the election." If a voter has previously participated in another party's primary, he or she can complete a statement at the polling place on the day of the election affirming that the voter is changing his or her partisan affiliation.
South Carolina	Yes	N/A
Tennessee	Yes	Section 2-7-115 of the Tennessee Code stipulates that a voter must either be registered with a political party or must declare his or affiliation with the party at the polls on primary election day in order to vote in that party's primary.
Texas	Yes	N/A
Vermont	Yes	N/A
Virginia	Yes	N/A
Wisconsin	Yes	N/A
Wyoming	Yes	A voter must be affiliated with a political party in order to participate in its primary election. Any voter, regardless of previous partisan affiliation, may change his or her affiliation on the day of the primary.

Presidential primaries and caucuses, 2016 election cycle

In the 2016 presidential election cycle, political parties in 23 states utilized open primaries and/or caucuses as part of the presidential nominating process. The map below identifies states in which at least one political party utilized open primaries or caucuses as part of the presidential nominating process in 2016. Hover over a state for additional details.

States in which at least one political party utilized open primaries or caucuses for presidential nominating process, 2016
State	Open primaries or caucuses
Alabama	Yes
Arkansas	Yes
California	Yes (Democrats, American Independents, and Libertarians)
Colorado	Yes
Georgia	Yes
Idaho	Yes (Democrats)
Illinois	Yes
Indiana	Yes
Michigan	Yes
Minnesota	Yes
Mississippi	Yes
Missouri	Yes
Montana	Yes
North Dakota	Yes
Ohio	Yes
South Carolina	Yes
Tennessee	Yes
Texas	Yes
Utah	Yes (Democrats)
Vermont	Yes
Virginia	Yes
Washington	Yes (Democrats)
Wisconsin	Yes

Support and opposition

Support

In a 2014 article, the editorial board of USA Today argued that open primaries can produce more moderate general election candidates:

“	As a general rule, anything that the far right and the far left both decry is a decent idea. And so it is with open primaries. While they can be the subject of dirty tricks, they are more likely to produce candidates who are moderate enough to win in general elections and be more effective in office. The very people who cross over are often the very people a party most needs to attract.	”
—USA Today

John Opdycke, in a 2017 opinion piece for The Hill, suggested that open primaries are an effective counter to partisan gridlock:

“	Open primaries bring people together and enforces accountability. They create new opportunities to work together, form innovative coalitions and debate issues on the merits. That’s why open primaries are so relevant right now and why activists in Florida, Idaho and many more states are working hard to impact on local laws and on the rules for our next presidential primary in 2020. As long as our system of elections incentivizes politicians to play to their partisan base, Washington won’t change. It will continue to get worse.	”
—John Opdycke

In a 2016 opinion piece for The Orlando Sentinel, columnist Beth Kassab argued that closed primaries disenfranchise voters and that open primaries are an effective remedy to this issue:

“	[There are] 3.2 million voters in Florida who are barred from having a say in Tuesday's presidential primary because they aren't registered with one of the two major political parties. Think about that. More than a quarter of the state's voters are left out. They will be forced to sit on the sidelines — completely disenfranchised — during one of the most contentious primaries in recent history.	”
—Beth Kassab

Opposition

Andrew Gripp, in a 2016 piece for the Independent Voter Network, argued that forcing political parties to open their primaries to unaffiliated voters infringes upon the associational rights of the parties:

“	Citizens should not impose on parties their supposed right to help determine the parties’ nominees because it [...] violates these private groups’ freedom of association. A caveat: this is not to say that parties should not be encouraged to open up their internal elections to non-members; indeed, it may be in their interest to do so. But this is an option that should be left to the parties themselves and not to be effected through state force.	”
—Andrew Gripp

Bill Armistead, chairman of the Republican Party of Alabama, suggested in an interview with The Washington Times that open primaries enable members of opposing political parties to sabotage the nominating processes of those parties:

“	The Mississippi primary shows what can happen when you have an open primary. Most often it is for mischief. The Democrats who vote in our primary either want to support the weaker candidate so they will have a better shot at winning in the general election, or they have been coerced into voting in our party’s primary to elect a candidate more closely aligned with their party’s views and philosophy.	”
—Bill Armistead

Bob Cesca, in a 2016 piece for The Daily Banter, made an argument similar to Armistead's:

“	Frankly, there shouldn't be any open primaries in the first place. Basic logic dictates that members of the Democratic Party should be exclusively tasked with choosing the Democratic Party nominee for president, as well as congressional offices and so forth. Second, it's a huge mistake for the Democrats to unilaterally make a change like this since it'd leave the process completely and lopsidedly vulnerable to Republican tampering[.]	”
—Bob Cesca

Recent legislation

The map below identifies states in which legislation related to the conduct of primary elections has been introduced. Hover over a state to see the precise number of relevant bills introduced in that state. A darker shade of red indicates a greater number of relevant bills. In those states shaded in white, relevant bills have not been introduced. For state-specific details, click a state in the map below or select a state from the drop-down menu beneath the map (states shaded in white cannot be selected). A list of state legislation will display, including information about bill status and links to full text. This information is provided by BillTrack50.com. To return to the map, click "Back" in the upper righthand corner of the legislation list.

See below for a complete list of primary systems bills. To learn more about a particular bill, click its title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

See also

• Primary election
• Closed primary
• Semi-closed primary
• Blanket primary
• Top-two primary

Footnotes

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