In a lot of countries voting is by secret ballot so why in the US do people have their affiliation publicly registered? The point of secret ballots is to avoid harassment from political opponents, is this not a problem over there?
In: Other
Not all states have partisan registration.
States that do have partisan registration typically have closed primary elections to select party nominees. This means that only registered members of the party can participate in the primary election.
In states without partisan registration that hold primary elections, voters can typically ask for a specific party’s primary ballot.
Partisan primary elections are not the only process for selecting candidates. Some states use top-two primary systems (where they top two vote getters in an all-party primary move to the general election — Louisiana uses a similar system for state election; however, a candidate can win the election outright if they get more than 50% of the vote. Some states with all-party primaries have partisan registration and some do not.
Other systems for determining party nominees include conventions and caucuses.
Latest Answers