How do primaries work

Prospective delegates are identified as favorable to a specific candidate or uncommitted. After discussion and debate an informal vote is taken to determine which delegates should be chosen. In the early twentieth century there was a movement to give more power to citizens in the selection of candidates for the party's nomination.

The primary election developed from this reform movement. In a primary election, registered voters may participate in choosing the candidate for the party's nomination by voting through secret ballot, as in a general election. There are two main types of primaries, closed or open, that determine who is eligible to vote in the primary.

In a closed primary a registered voter may vote only in the election for the party with which that voter is affiliated. For example a voter registered as Democratic can vote only in the Democratic primary and a Republican can vote only in the Republican primary.

In an open primary, on the other hand, a registered voter can vote in either primary regardless of party membership. The voter cannot, however, participate in more than one primary. A third less common type of primary, the blanket primary, allows registered voters to participate in all primaries. In addition to differences in which voters are eligible to vote in the primary, there are differences in whether the ballot lists candidate or delegate names. Summer of the year before an election through spring of the election year — Primary and caucus Caucus: a statewide meeting held by members of a political party to choose a presidential candidate to support.

January to June of election year — States and parties hold primaries Primary: an election held to determine which of a party's candidates will receive that party's nomination and be their sole candidate later in the general election. December — Electors Elector: a person who is certified to represent their state's vote in the Electoral College.

For an in-depth look at the federal election process in the U. Before the general election, most candidates for president go through a series of state primaries and caucuses. Though primaries and caucuses are run differently, they both serve the same purpose. Caucuses are private meetings run by political parties. In most, participants divide themselves into groups according to the candidate they support. Undecided voters form their own group.

Each group gives speeches supporting its candidate and tries to get others to join its group. At the end, the number of voters in each group determines how many delegates each candidate has won. During a closed primary or caucus, only voters registered with that party can take part and vote. Learn which states have which types of primaries. At stake in each primary or caucus is a certain number of delegates.

These are individuals who represent their state at national party conventions. The parties have different numbers of delegates due to the rules involved in awarding them.

Each party also has some unpledged delegates or superdelegates. These delegates are not bound to a specific candidate heading into the national convention. When the primaries and caucuses are over, most political parties hold a national convention. This is when the winning candidates receive their nomination. For information about your state's presidential primaries or caucuses, contact your state election office or the political party of your choice.

Anyone who meets these requirements can declare their candidacy for president. That includes naming a principal campaign committee to raise and spend campaign funds. To become the presidential nominee, a candidate typically has to win a majority of delegates. Four years after the world watched Donald Trump's momentum build and build until he became the Republican nominee, America is again deciding who will run for the White House. The nominees are being chosen through a series of primaries and caucuses in every US state and territory, that began in Iowa on 3 February and ends in Puerto Rico in early June.

The Republican nominee will be Donald Trump. Even though technically he has a challenger, he is so popular among Republicans, he has a clear run ahead of him. With that in mind, the Democratic primaries are the only ones worth watching. It's an unusual process, not all of which makes sense, although we've tried. A whole year before the primaries, the first candidates emerged from hibernation.

Over the year, others woke up and eventually 28 people announced they were running to become the Democratic nominee for president. But dwindling funds, luke-warm or ice-cold public reaction and campaign infighting have, to varying degrees, led to most of them pulling out of the race. At the start of primary season, 11 people remained in the running, a number that has now reduced to three.

In theory, any one of them could become the nominee. In reality, only two now have a chance. The first event of the primary season isn't a primary at all - it's a series of caucuses, in Iowa. These took place on Monday 3 February, in somewhat chaotic fashion. What are caucuses? A caucus involves people attending a meeting - maybe for a few hours - before they vote on their preferred candidate, perhaps via a head count or a show of hands.

Those meetings might be in just a few select locations - you can't just turn up at a polling station. As a result, caucuses tend to really suit candidates who are good at rousing their supporters to get out of bed. People like Bernie Sanders, for example, who performed well in Iowa this time, as did Pete Buttigieg. Caucuses used to be far more popular back in the day, but this year, Democrats are holding only four in US states - in Nevada, North Dakota, Wyoming and Iowa.

Why does Iowa matter? A win there for any candidate can help give them momentum and propel them to victory in the primaries. Why is Iowa first in the primary calendar? You can blame Jimmy Carter, sort of. Iowa became first in , for various technical electoral reasons too boring to go into here. But when Carter ran for president in , his team realised they could grab the momentum by campaigning early in Iowa.

He won there, then surprisingly won the presidency, and Iowa's fate was sealed. Why does Iowa not matter? Iowa doesn't represent the entire US - it's largely white, so the way people vote there is very, very different than in other states. Its record on picking the eventual nominees is a bit rubbish too, at least when it comes to Republicans - when there's an open Republican race, Iowa hasn't opted for the eventual nominee since This year, Iowa suffered a bloody nose when the Democratic result was delayed by days due to technical glitches.

In general, there are two broad criteria by which primary elections can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction:. The terms of participation in primary elections vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and, sometimes, within a jurisdiction; different political parties may enforce different participation criteria. In general, there are three basic primary election participation models used in the United States:. Note : Louisiana does not conduct true primary elections. Instead, all candidates running for a local, state, or federal office appear on the same ballot in either October in odd-numbered years or November in even-numbered years , regardless of their partisan affiliations.

If a candidate wins a simple majority of all votes cast for the office i. If no candidate meets that threshold, the top two finishers, regardless of their partisan affiliations, advance to a second election in December. In that election, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes wins. Ballotpedia refers to Louisiana's electoral system as the Louisiana majority-vote system.

Because it is possible for a candidate to win election in the first round of voting, Louisiana is not categorized by the primary election types listed below. In 21 states, at least one political party conducts open primaries for congressional and state-level offices. The map below identifies states in which at least one political party utilizes open primaries for congressional and state-level elections.

Hover over a state for additional details. In 14 states and the District of Columbia, at least one political party conducts closed primaries for congressional and state-level offices. The map below identifies states in which at least one political party utilizes closed primaries for congressional and state-level elections. In 15 states, at least one political party conducts semi-closed primaries for congressional and state-level offices.

The map below identifies states in which at least one political party utilizes semi-closed primaries for congressional and state-level elections. In , Washington became the first state to adopt a top-two primary system for congressional and state-level elections. California followed suit in In Nebraska , a top-two primary system is utilized for state legislative elections. Because Nebraska's state legislature is nonpartisan, partisan affiliation labels are not listed alongside the names of state legislative candidates.

In , Alaska voters approved a ballot initiative establishing a top-four primary for state executive, state legislative, and congressional elections. The initiative also established ranked-choice voting for general elections for the aforementioned offices and the presidency.

The map below identifies states that utilize top-two primary elections. In 40 of the 50 states, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes in a primary election is considered the winner, even if he or she does not win more than 50 percent of votes cast.

In 10 states identified in the map and table below , a candidate must win a majority of votes cast that is, more than 50 percent in order to win a primary. In these states, if no candidate reaches that threshold, a primary runoff election is held. See the map and table below for further details. Unless otherwise specified, the states identified below conduct primary runoffs if no candidate, regardless of the office being sought, wins an outright majority of the votes cast.

The map below identifies states in which legislation related to the conduct of primary elections has been introduced. Hover over a state to see the precise number of relevant bills introduced in that state. A darker shade of red indicates a greater number of relevant bills. In those states shaded in white, relevant bills have not been introduced. For state-specific details, click a state in the map below or select a state from the drop-down menu beneath the map.