Primary Election in the United States

Introduction

According to the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, the primary election for selecting candidates is a uniquely American innovation. First adopted in Wisconsin in 1905, it has since spread to every other state. Generally it is the required method for selecting major political parties ‘ nominees, whose names are automatically placed. (…) As constitutional custodians of the electoral process, states have the power to regulate both voters’ access to the polls and the conduct of the political parties. Constitutional questions pertaining to primary elections mainly stem from the tension between the state’s competences and the federal ones.

State Primary Elections

A state primary election is an election that is held before the general election. Political parties use the primary election method to choose members of their party to run for public office in the general election. Many candidates may want to be nominated in a primary. Only one candidate from each party is chosen to run for an office in a general election. Then, in the general election, voters choose between the candidates who won the primary election.

Direct Primary

There are several types of primaries. The form most often used is the direct primary. In a direct primary, party members who wish to run for office ask to have their names put on the ballot. Then the voters choose the candidate they support. There are two kinds of direct primaries: open and closed. An open primary has ballots for all the candidates. Voters may choose both the party and the candidate of their choice when they are in the privacy of the voting booth. A closed primary requires voters to declare in advance which party they want to vote for. They can vote only for candidates of that party.

Indirect Primary

In an indirect primary members of a political party elect delegates to party conventions. At the party convention, the delegates elected at the primary choose the candidates who will represent that party in the election. This is called indirect because party members and then the delegates do the selecting instead of the voters.

Nonpartisan Primary

Nonpartisan primaries are not connected to a political party. This type of primary is generally used for smaller local elections. Voters consider a candidate’s qualifications and are not concerned about the candidate’s political party.

Concept of Primary Election

In the U.S., in the context of Voting, Campaigns and Elections Primary Election has the following meaning: A method by which a political party chooses its nominees for the general election, by party identifiers voting on candidates for the nomination. The winner of the votes (using either a majority or plurality decision rule) is declared the party’s nominee for the general election campaign for that office. (Source of this definition of Primary Election : University of Texas)