Hello Mamas,
I need to know once and for all about voting at the Primaries: who can vote? Any registered voter?
I am in doubt since a friend told me that only registered Democrats or Republicans or Independents could vote at the Primaries...Is it true?
I am a registered voter and wish to vote at the upcoming primaries in March but I would rather not register in any party...Does it make me unable to vote?
When you go to the voting station, do you have to vote for a Republican candidate and a Democratic candidate? Or only one of them?
Sorry for my ignorance but I became an American only fairly recently....
Thanks for your help!
F.
F.-
The rules vary from to state to state. In Texas you do not have to be registered to a party in order to participate in their primary. Your vote affiliates you to that party for the rest of the year. Ofcourse, at the Presidential election you can vote for either candidate.
Hope that helps,
N.
You can vote for whoever you want. You do not have to register as a democrat or republican....
It is my understanding that in a closed Primary, if you are a registered Democrat you must vote DEMOCRAT in the Primary. Likewise, if you are a registered REPUBLICAN you must vote Republican.
If you are Independent... I am assuming you can vote for whomever.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_election GOOD INFO HERE.
In Texas, however it is OPEN, (just recently found this out yesterday) and ANY REGISTERED VOTER CAN VOTE FOR ANY CANDIDATE! So, this makes me feel good as I am a registered Republican and I'm voting Obama... YAY
AND YES you must have been registered by Feb. 4th in order to vote in the Primary.
Welcome to American Citizenship. Congrats.
Congratulations on becoming a US citizen!
In Texas, you do not have to choose when you register to vote. In other states, you must. When you vote in the primaries in Texas, that is when you are considered Democrat or Rebulican (or whatever). So, for example, if you choose to vote in the Democratic primaries, then any other primary election this year, you would only be able to vote on the Democratic side.
I'm not sure if you know this, but in the Primary elections, the folks running against each other are all in the same party. And the primaries are designed to choose the top guy (or gal) for that party.
Then in the general election, the candidates are running against the top guy/gal from each of the other parties. So there is only one person from each party on the ballot. At this point, regardless of what party you chose to vote for in the primaries, you can vote for any candidate on the ballot.
Hope this helps. Congratulations on wanting to get involved.
If you registered in time, you may vote in the primaries, but you can only vote for one candidate. Either the Republican or Democratic primary, not both.
Congratulations on your American Citizenship!
