Registering to vote...primary elections?

[chiwawa626]

I have been registered to vote for the last couple years in the state of CA, and if I remember correctly I am registered as a democrat. When the primary election rolls around will I only be allowed to nominate a democratic candidate? Say suppose I want to nominate a republican candidate, is that possible, or do I need to re-register as with republican affiliation?

 

[daniel1113]

I believe it depends on the state, but to vote in most primaries, you must be registered with the party in which you intend to vote.

So, hurry up and become a registered Republican so that you can support Ron Paul

 

[FoBoT]

yes, it varies from state to state whether they have open or closed primaries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U...imary#Types_of_primary

In most states, only voters registered with a party may vote in that party's primary, known as a closed primary. In some states, a semi-closed primary is practiced, in which voters unaffiliated with a party (independents) may choose a party primary in which to vote. In an open primary, any voter may vote in any party's primary. In all of these systems, a voter may participate in only one primary; that is, a voter who casts a vote for a candidate standing for the Republican nomination for president cannot cast a vote for a candidate standing for the Democratic nomination, or vice versa. A few states once staged a blanket primary, in which voters could vote for one candidate in multiple primaries, but the practice was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2000 case of California Democratic Party v. Jones as violating the freedom of assembly guaranteed by the First Amendment.[5]

you'll have to look up which system CA uses

 

[chiwawa626]

Originally posted by: daniel1113
I believe it depends on the state, but to vote in most primaries, you must be registered with the party in which you intend to vote.

So, hurry up and become a registered Republican so that you can support Ron Paul

You read my mind.


Anyway, I havent got a chance to look into it further yet, but anyone know what california's rules are?

 

[Torghn]

I had never heard of this guy until now. Guess I should have watched the debates.

 

[ValValline]

In California the parties have the option to allow "cross over" voting in a primary. In other words you may or may not be able to vote for a rep if you are registered dem. it depends on what the parties decide prior to the election.

There is no limit to the number of times you can re-register. The only limit is a hard deadline close to an election/primary that gives the county officials time to record your registration.

If you want to vote for a specific candidate in another party, then your best bet is to re-register before the primary cut-off, then re-register again, if you want to go back to your previous party before the general election.

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626

Originally posted by: daniel1113
I believe it depends on the state, but to vote in most primaries, you must be registered with the party in which you intend to vote.

So, hurry up and become a registered Republican so that you can support Ron Paul

You read my mind.


Anyway, I havent got a chance to look into it further yet, but anyone know what california's rules are?

read me

 

[allisolm]

Originally posted by: freesia39

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
Anyway, I havent got a chance to look into it further yet, but anyone know what california's rules are?

read me

I don't live in CA but the way I read that is not the way ValValline explained it. What I see is that votors who are registered but did not declare any party affiliation MAY be allowed to crossover vote in primaries. Votors who are registered Democrat (as the OP said he was) will have to vote for Democrat candidates only. He would have to change to Republican or unaffiliated (and hope the Republicans allow crossover) in order to vote for a Republican candidate in the primary.

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: Torghn
I had never heard of this guy until now. Guess I should have watched the debates.

http://www.ronpaul2008.com

Also, here are two compilations of Ron Paul at the first and third GOP debates that I put together:

First GOP Debate

Third GOP Debate

As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of Congressman Ron Paul.

 

[Cattlegod]

I registered last year to vote. Do I have to re register each year or does it carry over?

 

[PottedMeat]

If it seems likely that the candidate you want from your party will win their primary, make sure you register for the opposite party and vote for the weakest opposing candidate.

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
I registered last year to vote. Do I have to re register each year or does it carry over?

As always, it depends on your state, but I have never heard of a requirement to register on a yearly basis. Usually, your registration continues indefinitely unless you change it.

 

[FoBoT]

in the states i have lived in, as long as you vote in each general federal presidential election (or more, so every four years) then you are retained on the voting records

but it is really up to the country registrar in accordance with the rules of the state as put forth by the secretary of state ( for your state)