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{{Wikipedia}}
A '''primary election''' is one in which a [[political party]] selects a candidate for a later [[election]] by all registered voters in that jurisdiction (''nominating primary''). Primaries are sometimes open only to registered members of that party, and sometimes open to all voters. In open primaries, voters must typically choose only one primary to participate in that election cycle. [[Louisiana]], [[U.S.A.]] is an exception. Until [[2004]] in the state of [[Washington]], [[U.S.A.]], this was also not the case, and voters were able to vote in all parties' primaries on the same ballot, though not for more than one candidate per office. This "[[blanket primary]]" was struck down by the [[United States Supreme Court]] as violating the [[First Amendment]] guarantee of [[freedom of assembly]].▼
▲A '''primary election''' is one in which a [[political party]] selects a candidate for a later
Primaries can also be used in nonpartisan elections to reduce the set of candidates that go on to the general election (''qualifying primary''). (In the U.S. many city, county and school board elections are nonpartisan.) Generally twice as many candidate pass the primary as can win in the general election, so a single seat election primary would allow the top two primary candidates to participate in the general election following.
Because many Washingtonians were disappointed over the loss of the blanket primary, which the
In elections using [[voting system]]s where [[strategic nomination]] is a concern, primaries can be very important in preventing "[[clone]]" candidates that split their constituency's vote because of their similarities. Primaries allow political parties to select and unite behind one candidate.
In the
== Types of primaries ==
* ''Open.'' Voters may vote in primaries of a party of their choice, the choice to be made at the voting booth.
* ''Closed.'' Voters may only vote in a primary if they are registered members of that party.
* ''
* ''Run-off.'' If no candidate receives a majority (50%) the top two candidates may face-off in a [[Runoff voting|run-off]] election.▼
* [[Approval-based primary election method]]s — methods which use an approval-style "choose-many" ballot, but also advance more than one candidate to the general election.
▲''Blanket.'' No longer in use, allowed voters to vote in either primary, switching party primaries with each office (Ex. Republican Presidential primary, Democratic Gubernatorial Primary, Republican Congressional Primary).
▲''Run-off.'' If no candidate receives a majority (50%) the top two candidates may face-off in a run-off election.
Other ways that parties may select their candidates include [[caucus]]es and [[political convention|convention]]s.
==
Partisan primary elections tend to result in a [[center squeeze effect]]. A candidate liked by all voters can theoretically be eliminated from contention because more partisan voters prefer candidates closer to their views, to the detriment of more centrist nonpartisan voters who don't vote in primaries. This is a major reason why the "[[unified primary]]" has started finding support. Centrist candidates have a better chance of avoiding elimination under unified primaries than other methods, since partisans could support both their favorite candidates and the compromise candidates, rather than only choosing one (as required in [[first-past-the-post]] and typical [[Blanket primary|blanket primaries]]).
[[Category:Voting systems]]▼
== Discussion ==
Here are a few places where the pros and cons of primary elections are discussed:
* https://robla.blog/2023/12/17/down-with-party-poopers-and-primary-poopers/
* http://lists.electorama.com/pipermail/election-methods-electorama.com/2023-December/thread.html#5182
* https://www.reddit.com/r/EndFPTP/comments/18mampd/down_with_party_poopers_and_primary_poopers/
[[Category:Primary elections|*]]
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