Can I vote in the Republican primary? Your registration questions answered

A woman shows up at her polling place on primary day, ready to vote for the candidate she has been following for two years. The poll worker looks her up, frowns and says, "You're not registered with a party." She argues. She is polite about it, then less polite. She has voted in every election for thirty years. She goes home without having voted in the one election where her vote might have mattered most.

I'd call that a scandal if it were anyone's fault but hers, and it is not entirely hers either, because nobody ever taught her this. Primary rules are the least understood part of voting in America, and the reason is simple: they change at every state line. What follows is a question-and-answer guide to the problems that actually trip people up. I'll give you the general rule, the exceptions that matter, and the place to check. The one thing I cannot give you is the rule for your state, because there are fifty of them, and they change. For that, you go to the source, and I'll tell you where in the last answer.

Who may take a Republican ballot

Do I have to be registered as a Republican to vote in the Republican primary?

It depends on your state, and the state decides, not the party. In a closed primary state, yes: you need to be registered as a Republican before the state's deadline, and an unaffiliated or Democratic voter cannot take a Republican ballot. In a semi-closed state, registered Republicans vote in the Republican primary and unaffiliated voters may ask for a Republican ballot. In an open primary state, you do not register by party at all, or you pick any party's ballot in the booth. If you are not sure which kind of state you live in, you cannot answer this question yet. Look up your state's rule first.

What is the difference between party registration and "declared affiliation"?

Party registration is a line on your voter record. When you registered to vote, you ticked a box or wrote a party name, and the county election office recorded it. In states with party registration, your record says Republican, Democratic, unaffiliated or something else.

Declared affiliation is what happens in states that do not record a party for you in advance. You show up at the primary and you tell the poll worker which party's ballot you want, or you choose a party's section of a single ballot. In some of those states, the ballot you chose is recorded in your voting history afterward, and the voting history is a public record in many states. Whether yours is, and who can see it, depends on your state's law.

What is the difference between an open and a closed primary?

An open primary lets a voter take part in a party's primary without belonging to the party. A closed primary limits the contest to registered members of the party. The interesting cases lie between those poles: a semi-closed primary lets unaffiliated voters in but keeps registered members of other parties out. The parties often have a view on this. The Supreme Court held in Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut (1986) that a state could not prevent a party from allowing independents to vote in its primary. The Court has also protected the right of a party to keep out voters it does not want: in California Democratic Party v. Jones (2000) it struck down a blanket primary that forced parties to associate with voters who did not belong to them.

Can I vote in the Republican primary and then in a Democratic one?

In the same primary election, no. You get one party's ballot. But the question hides a more important one: what happens to the runoff? In several states, if you voted in one party's primary you cannot vote in a different party's runoff for the same cycle. Texas has a rule of that kind. If you plan to cast a ballot in a runoff, check the state's rule before you pick a ballot in round one. The mistake costs people their second vote.

What is crossover voting, and is it legal?

Crossover voting is when a voter registered with one party, or none, takes the ballot of another party's primary. Where state law allows it, as in an open or semi-closed state, it is legal. Where the state has a closed primary, a crossover voter can be refused a ballot, and someone who falsely claims a party registration to get one could be breaking the law.

Conservatives often worry about "raiding", which is when voters of the other party cross over to vote for the weaker Republican. That worry is real in the sense that it is theoretically possible, and the effect is hard to measure. If you are concerned, the policy answer is to press for closed or semi-closed primaries through the legislature. The practical answer is to make sure that more Republicans vote in the primary than the other side can send over. See Why every Republican owes the primary election a vote, every time.

Deadlines, runoffs and write-ins

When is the deadline to change my party registration?

The deadline is set by state law, and it varies a great deal. Some states let you change your party at the polls on primary day. Many require a change weeks before the primary. A few set a long lock-in period, so a voter who wants to switch must do it months ahead of the primary. This is the answer that turns away the most people, so look it up early. The place to check is your secretary of state's voter registration page or your county election office.

If you plan to change your party, do it as soon as you decide, not the week before the deadline. Mail takes time. Online systems go down. A deadline is a deadline.

What happens if no candidate gets a majority? What is a runoff?

A runoff is a second election between the top two vote-getters, held when no one reaches the required share in the first round. Texas, Georgia and Alabama are among the states that use runoffs for party primaries. The required share varies. Some states ask for more than half, and others ask for a lower threshold such as 40 percent. Check your own state's rule.

Here is a hypothetical to show how it can go. Say three Republicans run and the votes are 45, 35 and 20 percent. That adds to 100. If the state requires a majority, no one has it, so the top two go to a runoff. If the state requires only 40 percent, the first-place finisher wins outright with 45. The same votes produce different outcomes under different rules, which is why the threshold matters.

For more on what these systems reward, see Caucus, primary or convention, how Republicans actually pick a nominee.

Can I write in a candidate in the primary?

Sometimes. States differ. Some allow write-ins in a primary only if the person has filed paperwork in advance as a write-in candidate. Some do not allow write-ins in primaries at all. Some count a write-in vote only if it is for a person who has met certain requirements. If you intend to write someone in, call the election office and ask, and ask also whether a misspelled name is counted. A write-in vote that the state does not count is the same as no vote.

Rules that surprise people

What is a sore-loser law?

A sore-loser law says that a candidate who loses a party primary cannot then run in the general election as an independent or the nominee of another party. Many states have one. In Storer v. Brown (1974) the Supreme Court upheld a closely related California rule that kept candidates who had recently been affiliated with a party from running as independents, reasoning that a state may protect the primary as the main way of choosing among candidates and may guard against a losing candidate running a second race in the same cycle.

Why does it matter to you? Because it is the reason that the choice you make in the primary is, in many states, the choice you get. If your favourite candidate loses, you cannot count on his appearing on the November ballot on another line. It also affects how you think about party loyalty: if a state has a sore-loser law, the Republican nominee is the Republican nominee.

What is a top-two primary?

In a top-two system, all candidates for an office appear on a single primary ballot, whatever their party, and the two with the most votes advance to the general election. Washington and California use this system for many offices. There is no Republican primary in the sense this post has been using, and it is possible for two members of the same party to face each other in November, or for a party to have no one on the November ballot. The Court upheld Washington's top-two approach in Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party (2008). If you live in a top-two state, the question is not whether you can vote in the Republican primary but how the party and its supporters keep from splitting votes among too many candidates.

At the polling place

Can the party refuse to let me vote?

The party generally does not run the voting in a state-run primary, so the answer is usually no. The state and the county election office decide who is eligible, based on state law. Where parties do run the election, as in a caucus or convention, the party can set rules for who participates, subject to its bylaws and state law. If a poll worker tells you that you cannot vote, ask whether you can cast a provisional ballot, a ballot that is set aside while election officials check whether you were eligible. The provisional ballot does not guarantee that your vote counts, but it creates a record, and it can be counted if you were in fact eligible.

Is my choice of ballot private?

Your vote is secret. The fact that you took part in a particular party's primary may not be, in states where it is recorded in the voter file as a vote history. Rules differ on whether the record is public. If privacy matters to you, look up your state's law on voter file access and what it contains.

Can I vote in the primary if I will be 18 by the general election?

In a number of states, yes: a voter who will be 18 by the date of the general election may vote in the primary. Other states do not allow it. If you have a son or daughter approaching 18, it is worth a call to the election office, because a first vote in a primary is often the most influential vote a young person ever casts. A parent who helps with that is doing something useful.

Where to check

Where do I find the rules for my state?

Use these sources in this order:

1. Your secretary of state's website (or the state's election division). Search for "primary election" and "party affiliation." The state publishes the rules, deadlines and forms.
2. Your county election office. Call or email, and ask in writing if the answer is important. Keep the reply.
3. Vote.gov, a federal government website that points you to your state's registration page. It does not make the rules, but it will lead you to the people who do.
4. Your state Republican Party. The party's website often explains who can vote in its primary and when, and its rules explain how it picks delegates. If your state party and your election office disagree, trust the election office for the question of who may vote.
5. The sample ballot your county mails or posts before the election, and the guide in how to read your ballot before you get to the voting booth.

Check your registration at least once a year, and again after you move, change your name or skip an election. A lapsed registration is a common reason people are turned away.

The mistakes I'd most like to prevent

1. Showing up on primary day without having confirmed your registration.
2. Assuming the party rules are the same in the next state, or the same as last cycle.
3. Missing the registration deadline by a day.
4. Forgetting the runoff, or voting the wrong ballot in round one and losing the runoff.
5. Staying home because the nominee looks certain. In low-turnout primaries, a few hundred votes can decide a race. Our piece on Seven myths that keep good Republicans on the sidelines takes on that excuse.

The bottom line

• Your state decides who may vote in the Republican primary, not the party, and the rules differ at every state line. Look up yours before the deadline.
• If you are unaffiliated or registered with another party, find out whether your state is open, semi-closed or closed, and what the deadline is for changing.
• If your state has a runoff, learn who can vote in it before you choose a ballot in the first round.
• Check your registration once a year and after every move. It takes two minutes on the secretary of state's site.
• Tell a neighbour. The surest way to beat low primary turnout is for each Republican to bring one more Republican, and the history of how nominees are chosen is covered in How Republicans Pick Nominees from Party Bosses to Primaries and Caucuses.