direct primary
-
What is a direct primary?
A direct primary is a type of election where voters directly select a political party's candidates for an office. These primaries are preliminary elections that determine which candidates will participate in the subsequent general election. This system contrasts with an indirect primary, where voters choose delegates who then select the nominees at a nominating convention.
The direct primary system originated from the Progressive movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Reformers sought to give the general public more power in selecting candidates. In open primary states, registered voters can vote in either party's primary, regardless of their affiliation. In closed primary states, only voters registered with a party can vote in that party's primary.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How is a direct primary different from other types of elections?
In the United States, a direct primary is a type of election where voters directly select a political party's candidates for an office. Functioning as preliminary elections, direct primaries determine which candidates will participate in a subsequent general election.
Unlike indirect primaries, where voters choose delegates who then select candidates at a nominating convention, direct primaries allow voters to directly decide their party's nominees. Direct primaries can be open, allowing any voter to participate regardless of party affiliation, or closed, restricting voting to registered party members only. All U.S. states now use direct primaries in some form.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who can vote in a direct primary?
Generally, registered voters can participate in direct primary elections, but they can only vote in one party’s direct primary in a given election year. Political parties can control who is eligible to vote in their party’s direct primary.
About two-fifths of U.S. states have open primaries, which allow voters to cast ballots in either party’s direct primary, regardless of their party registration. Other states have closed primaries, in which only voters registered with a political party may vote in that party’s direct primary; independents, or voters not registered with any party, may not participate. Still other states have mixed rules that allow independents to vote in either party’s direct primary, or that allow voters to vote in either party’s direct primary but requires them to publicly register a corresponding partisan affiliation when doing so.
To be eligible for voter registration, you must:
* Be a U.S. citizen
* Be 18 years old by the date of the election
* Meet your state’s eligibility requirements for voter registration4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is the purpose of holding a direct primary?
The purpose of a direct primary is to allow voters to directly choose a political party's candidates for an office. Direct primaries are preliminary elections where voters select candidates for a later general election.
Dissatisfaction with party bosses selecting candidates led to reforms, extending the power to the general public. States adopted direct primary systems, requiring all party nominees for public office to be selected this way.
In open primaries, voters can cast ballots in either party's primary, regardless of party registration. In closed primaries, only voters registered with a party may vote in that party's primary.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How do direct primaries affect how political parties choose their candidates?
Direct primaries in the U.S. are preliminary elections where voters directly choose a political party's candidates for an office, contrasting with indirect primaries where delegates choose nominees.
Dissatisfaction with party leaders choosing candidates led to reforms, starting in the 1840s, that let any party voter attend local meetings to nominate candidates. The Progressive movement furthered this in the early 20th century, extending candidate selection power to the public.
All states now use some form of direct primary. These may be closed, where only party members vote, or open, allowing any voter to choose a party's primary. Party organizations often prefer closed primaries because they promote party unity.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are some advantages and disadvantages of direct primaries in politics?
A direct primary is a preliminary election where voters directly select a political party's candidates for an office, who will then contest a later general election. This system contrasts with an indirect primary, where delegates to a nominating convention choose the nominees.
Generally, registered voters can participate in direct primary elections, but they can only vote in one party's primary per election year. In open primary states (about two-fifths of US states), voters can cast ballots in either party's primary, regardless of their registration. However, in closed primary states, only voters registered with a political party can vote in that party’s primary; independents cannot participate. Some states have mixed rules allowing independents to vote in either primary, sometimes requiring public registration of party affiliation when doing so.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
direct primary, in the United States, a form of election in which voters directly choose a political party’s candidates for office. Direct primaries function as preliminary elections in which voters choose the candidates who will contest a later general election. A direct primary contrasts with an indirect primary, in which voters choose delegates to a nominating convention, which then selects a party’s nominees.
Origins
The first steps toward direct primaries occurred in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, in the early 1840s. Before that time, party bosses had selected candidates for elections. Dissatisfaction with this system led Democrats in Crawford county to enact reforms that allowed any Democratic voter to attend a local meeting to nominate candidates for public office.
Direct primaries for local offices—such as clerks, inspectors, and judges—spread to other states in the 1860s. In 1866 both California and New York adopted laws to protect the right of voluntary associations to hold direct primaries. Five years later Ohio and Pennsylvania followed suit.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
The modern direct primary system originated in reforms initiated by the Progressive movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Reformers wanted to extend the power of selecting candidates for all offices to the general public. One reformer, Robert La Follette, who served as governor of Wisconsin from 1901 to 1906, was particularly successful: when his supporters gained control of the Wisconsin legislature in 1903, they scheduled a referendum on direct primaries for state offices, which was endorsed by voters in November 1904. Wisconsin’s first direct primaries were held in 1906, and the state extended its primary law to presidential elections in 1911. Other states, including Alabama and Oregon, were early adopters of direct primary systems. In 1913 Pennsylvania adopted a system that required all party nominees for public office—local, state, and federal—to be selected via direct primaries. Eventually, every state adopted some form of direct primary system.
Types
Open versus closed primaries
In general, registered voters can participate in direct primary elections, and voters can vote in only one party’s direct primary in a given election year. Beyond that, however, political parties can control who is eligible to vote in their party’s direct primary. About two-fifths of U.S. states have “open” primaries, which allow voters to cast ballots in either party’s direct primary, irrespective of their party registration. Another, smaller group of states have “closed” primaries, in which only voters registered with a political party may vote in that party’s direct primary; independents, or voters not registered with any party, may not participate.
Still other states have mixed rules that allow independents to vote in either party’s direct primary or that allow voters to vote in either party’s direct primary but requires them to publicly register a corresponding partisan affiliation when doing so.
Nonpartisan primaries
In most direct primaries, voters vote in separate partisan primaries to select a party’s nominees. In 1935, however, Washington state adopted what was known as a “blanket” primary, in which all candidates, regardless of their partisan affiliation, ran together and voters could vote for a single candidate for each office. That meant, for example, that a direct primary voter could vote for both a Democrat for the United States House of Representatives and a Republican for the United States Senate. The top vote getter in each party would then qualify as that party’s candidate in the general election.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
In 2000 a similar system adopted by California was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of association entailed that political parties have the right to determine who votes in their primaries. Three years later Washington’s primary system was invalidated on similar grounds by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Washington subsequently implemented a modified blanket system that was a nonpartisan contest in which voters could select one candidate per office, with the top two vote getters per office irrespective of party affiliation advancing to the general election; in 2008 this “top-two” system was declared constitutional by the Supreme Court. In 2010 voters in California endorsed a ballot initiative that established a system similar to that in Washington.