How do Political Primaries work? Well here's a short guide that scratches the surface for the general voter. Remember, stay educated America.
A primary closely resembles a general election -- when voters choose between candidates from each party for office. In a primary, however, the voter casts his or her vote to determine who will go onto the general election. This is a primary in a nutshell. Although primaries are more straightforward than caucuses-- which also help choose a party's candidate for president -- the primary process as a whole is somewhat convoluted.
Primaries can be closed or open. For simplicity's sake, let's start with the closed primary. In this type, only registered voters affiliated with a given party have the chance to go to the polls to cast their vote for their chosen candidate within that party. In closed primaries, only Republicans can vote for Republicans and Democrats for Democrats. Independent voters -- those who have opted to choose neither party, but are registered voters -- aren't allowed to cast a ballot. A closed primary can be modified to allow independents to cast a vote for a candidate from one party or another.
In open primaries, a voter can cast his or her ballot for either party. In most cases, the voter must choose a party to vote for by making a public statement at the polling station. In this circumstance, the voter will tell the election volunteer which party he or she chooses to vote for. He or she will then receive a ballot containing the candidates for that party. In some open primaries, voters may choose which party's candidate to vote for privately in the polling booth.
The goal of the primaries is to choose the party's candidate for president. In order for a candidate to receive the nomination, he or she has to win delegates. There are generally two ways to win delegates in primaries. In some cases candidates win by proportion. If a state has 100 delegates and a candidate wins 60 percent of the vote in the state's primary, then that candidate will have 60 delegates from that state at the national convention -- the party nomination night. Other states use the winner-takes-all method. This sounds exactly like what it is: A candidate who wins the majority of the vote in a primary -- 51 percent -- wins all of that state's delegates.
Some favor the proportional method because it closely reflects the feelings of a state's voters. Others favor winner-takes-all, because it keeps primaries competitive by allowing candidates to come from behind with huge gains in key states.
When a candidate wins delegates in a state -- either by proportion of votes or winner-takes-all -- those delegates are presumed to be committed to voting for that candidate at the convention. Each party has a finite number of delegates who are up for grabs in the primaries. In 2008, the Republican Party had around 2,308 delegates; Democrats offered 4,364 delegates [source: U.S. State Department].
To win his or her party's nomination in the presidential race, a candidate must accrue the majority of the delegates. This can be as narrow a victory as just one delegate. A tie may result in more rounds of voting, and the numbers can easily change; a delegate is usually allowed to change his or her vote after the first round of voting.
Delegates are usually people who are involved in their state's politics. They may be volunteers, local party chairs or other interested citizens. In addition to delegates, states also offer uncommitted delegates. These people -- sometimes called superdelegates -- are usually elected officials from the state. Superdelegates can vote for whichever candidate they see fit, regardless of the primary turnout.
I hope this short guide helped any confused voters out there. Being educated is the first step to helping end low voter turnout.
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