What type of primary is restricted to voters affiliated with a particular party?

Federal/State Primary Elections (CLOSED) - Even-Numbered Years

What Is a Primary Election?         

A Primary Election is a preliminary (nominating) election to select, when necessary, Democratic, Republican and nonpartisan candidates who will run in the General Election contests (except candidates for U.S. President/Vice President and special district offices, who will only appear in the General Election). The direct vote of the people selects the candidates, rather than votes of convention delegates.

Nevada Is a CLOSED Primary Election State            

In Nevada, Federal/State Primary Elections are "CLOSED." That means if you chose Democratic or Republican as your party on your Voter Registration Application, you may vote only for candidates from your own party and you may also vote in nonpartisan contests. If you chose a party affiliation that was anything other than Democratic or Republican, you may vote only in nonpartisan contests. Note that ballot questions will not appear in the Primary Election.

•  Major Political Parties:

°  Democratic: If you are a registered with the Democratic Party, you may vote in your precinct's contests which select Democratic candidates AND in all of your precinct's nonpartisan contests.

°  Republican: If you are a registered Republican, you may vote in your precinct's contests which select Republican candidates AND in all of your precinct's nonpartisan contests.

•  Other Political Parties and Affiliations:                        

If you are not registered as a Democratic or Republican, you may vote for ONLY Nonpartisan CONTESTS for your precinct. Minor party, other party and independent candidates (no party affiliation) only appear in the General Election, NOT the Primary Election.

°  Minor Political Parties:  If your Voter Registration Application indicates that your party is one that is classified as "minor party," you may vote for ONLY Nonpartisan CONTESTS for your precinct.  CLICK HERE to view the list of officially recognized minor parties (those with and without ballot access) in the State of Nevada (pursuant to NRS 293.171):

°  All Other Political Parties: If your Voter Registration Application indicates that your party is one not officially recognized as a major or minor party by the State of Nevada, your affiliation will be classified as "other."  You may vote for ONLY Nonpartisan contests for your precinct.

°  No Political Party (Nonpartisans or "Independents"):  If your Voter Registration Application indicates that you are "nonpartisan" or that you are an "independent," i.e., not affiliated with any political party, your affiliation will be classified as "nonpartisan" and it will be listed as "nonpartisan." You may vote for ONLY Nonpartisan contests for your precinct.

Federal/State General Elections - Even-Numbered Years

Candidates who receive the most votes in a General Election are elected to office. You may vote for all offices and questions on the ballot for your precinct, regardless of your party affiliation.

Presidential Caucuses in Nevada - Presidential Election Years

Pursuant to Nevada law, Nevada does not conduct Primary Elections to select Presidential candidates. Instead, major political parties will hold caucuses at dates, times and locations that they will determine. The Washoe County Registrar of Voters is not involved with these caucuses.

CLICK HERE for more information regarding Presidential Caucuses.

TO CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION AND PARTY AFFILIATION IF YOU ARE REGISTERED IN WASHOE COUNTY, CLICK HERE.

TO VOLUNTEER TO BE A POLL WORKER, CLICK HERE.

Beginning in 2011, a law went into effect that restricts an elector to voting only in the primary election of the political party for which he or she is registered, unless a party notified the Secretary of State in writing that the political party elects to allow additional voters (unaffiliated voters and/or voters registered with another party) to participate in the party's primary election. (See Idaho Code § 34-904A.)

The Purpose of Primary Elections

The purpose of primary elections in the State of Idaho is to allow members of a recognized political party to select that party’s nominees to go on the general election ballot. Primary elections often are referred to as “party primaries”.

As a result of a federal court decision in Idaho Republican Party v. Ysursa, the 2011 Idaho Legislature passed House Bill 351 implementing a closed primary system. Persons who are not members of a party may not participate in the selection of that party’s nominees. However, Idaho law does allow the political parties the option of opening their primary elections to “unaffiliated” voters and members of other political parties if they so choose. The party chairman must notify the Secretary of State 6 months prior to the primary if the party intends to open it's primary election to those outside the party.

So in primary elections, unless the party chooses to allow others outside the party to participate in its primary election, only registered voters of a political party may vote to select their party’s nominees. In other words, at primary elections, registered Republicans may vote only for Republican candidates, and registered Democrats may vote only for Democratic candidates. Persons who are registered as “unaffiliated” (meaning not affiliated with any political party) may not vote for partisan candidates in primary elections unless the party decides to allow them. However, an unaffiliated voter may affiliate with a party up to or on Election Day and vote in that party's election. Independent candidates appear on the ballot only at the general election.

Electors can designate their party affiliation with the Democratic, Republican, Constitution or Libertarian Party or select no party affiliation (Unaffiliated) in any of the following ways:

There are elections on nonpartisan issues scheduled to be held in conjunction with primaries, such as judicial elections, bond or levy elections or possibly state or local question elections. All registered voters are entitled to vote on nonpartisan issues during primaries.

Party registration requirements have no effect on general election procedures. At general elections, all voters receive exactly the same ballot and may vote for any candidate whose name appears on it, without regard to the political affiliation of the candidate or the voter.

Changing Party Affiliation (§ 34-411A, Idaho Code)

For a primary election, an elector may change their political party affiliation or become “unaffiliated” by filing a signed form with the county clerk no later than the last day a candidate may file for partisan political office prior to such primary election, as provided for in Idaho Code § 34-704.

An “unaffiliated” elector may affiliate with the party of the elector's choice by filing a signed form up to and including election day. The application form for an absentee ballot described in Idaho Code § 34-1002, may also be used for this purpose.

An “unaffiliated” elector may affiliate with the party of the elector's choice on or before election day, by declaring such political party affiliation to the poll worker. The poll worker shall then record in the poll book the elector's choice. After the primary election, the county clerk shall record the party affiliation so recorded in the poll book as part of such elector's record within the voter registration system as provided for in Idaho Code § 34-437A.

A primary election is an election used either to narrow the field of candidates for a given elective office or to determine the nominees for political parties in advance of a general election. Primary elections can take several different forms. In a partisan primary, voters select a candidate to be a political party's nominee for a given office in the corresponding general election. Nonpartisan primaries are used to narrow the field of candidates for nonpartisan offices in advance of a general election. The terms of participation (e.g., whether only registered party members can vote in a party's primary) in primary elections can vary by jurisdiction, political party, and the office or offices up for election. The methods employed to determine the outcome of the primary (e.g., plurality systems, majority systems, top-two systems, etc.) can also vary by jurisdiction.

HIGHLIGHTS

See the sections below for general information on the use of primary elections in the United States and specific information on the types of primaries held in Wyoming:

To learn more about the party primaries that took place in Wyoming on August 16, 2022, click the links below.

Background

In general, there are two broad criteria by which primary elections can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction:

For more complete information on these criteria, click "[Show more]" below.

Show more

The terms of participation in primary elections vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction (and, sometimes, within a jurisdiction; different political parties may enforce different participation criteria). In general, there are three basic primary election participation models used in the United States:

1. Open primaries: 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.[1][2]
2. Closed primaries: A closed primary is any primary election in which a voter must affiliate formally with a political party in advance in order to participate in that party's primary.[1][2]
3. Semi-closed primaries: A semi-closed primary is one in which previously unaffiliated voters can participate in the primary of their choosing. Voters who previously affiliated with a political party who did not change their affiliations in advance cannot vote in another party's primary.[1][2]

Methods for determining the election's outcome

Methods for tallying votes to determine a primary election's outcome include the following:

1. Plurality voting system: In plurality systems, the candidate who wins the largest share of the vote wins the election. The candidate need not win an outright majority to be elected. These systems are sometimes referred to as first-past-the-post or winner-take-all.[3][4]
2. Majority voting system: In majority systems, a candidate must win more than 50 percent of the vote in order to win the election. In the event that no candidate wins an outright majority, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters. For this reason, majority systems are sometimes referred to as two-round systems. Ranked-choice voting is a specific type of majority voting system that may also be used in primary elections.[3][4]
3. Top-two primaries: A top-two primary is one in which all candidates are listed on the same primary election ballot; the top two vote-getters, regardless of their partisan affiliations, advance to the general election. Consequently, it is possible that two candidates belonging to the same political party could win in a top-two primary and face off in the general election. A top-two primary should not be confused with a blanket primary. In a blanket primary, all candidates are listed on the same primary ballot; the top vote-getter from each party participating in the primary advances to the general election.[2][5][6]

Primary election systems used in Wyoming

Congressional and state-level elections

In 22 states, at least one political party utilizes open primaries to nominate partisan candidates for congressional and state-level (e.g. state legislators, governors, etc.) offices. In 15 states, at least one party utilizes closed primaries to nominate partisan candidates for these offices. In 14 states, at least one party utilizes semi-closed primaries. In two (California and Washington), top-two primaries are utilized.[7]

Wyoming law stipulates that parties conduct open primaries. While voters 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. Primary elections in Wyoming are determined by plurality vote.[1][2][8][9][10]

The table below lists Wyoming offices for which parties must conduct primary elections to nominate their candidates.

State legislation and ballot measures

Primary systems legislation

The following is a list of recent primary election systems bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Wyoming state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

Primary systems ballot measures

Since 2017, Ballotpedia has tracked no ballot measures relating to primary elections in Wyoming.

• Electoral systems in Wyoming
• Voting in Wyoming
• Primary election

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 FairVote, "Who Can Vote in Congressional Primaries," accessed August 17, 2017
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," July 21, 2016
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 FairVote, "Electoral Systems," accessed July 7, 2017
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Georgetown University, "Electoral Systems," accessed July 7, 2017
5. ↑ USLegal.com, "Blanket Primary Law and Legal Definition," accessed January 13, 2016
6. ↑ Encyclopedia Brittanica, "Primary Election," accessed January 13, 2016
7. ↑ Louisiana utilizes a two-round electoral system in which the names of all eligible candidates are printed on the general election ballot. If a candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the general election, he or she is elected. If no candidate wins an outright majority in the general election, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters. This system is sometimes referred to as a jungle primary or majority electoral system. In Nebraska's nonpartisan state legislature employs a top-two primary system in which the top two vote-getters in the primary face off in the general election.
8. ↑ Wyoming Statutes, "22-2-117," accessed July 25, 2017
9. ↑ Wyoming Statutes, "§ 22-5-202. Major political party participation; separate ballots; same time," accessed September 4, 2017
10. ↑ Wyoming Statutes, "§ 22-5-212. When declaration of party affiliation required," accessed September 4, 2017