Just Curious to know about this process as I have never voted in one because of age and other reasons...
I know you can only vote to the partyyou are registered for (if you voted for your party in the last election) but does that mean that there are seperate voting booths and different locations for different parties?
My father (registered democrat/ Hillary Hater Supreme) went to vote and was Irate to find that Hillary was given the entire first row in the machine while obama was on the bottom right corner sharing his row with a bunch of local candidates for local elections. When he asked why? he was looked at like there was something wrong with him . He started a briefarguement in which he emphatically declared that "there was now way in hell that he was voting for that B!TCH"... everyone seemed shocked for some reason. He then asked why there were no republicans on the ballot on that machine to which none of the officials were able to answer him. My father hasnt voted in a primary for over a decade but felt that he needed to voted against Hillary at this one so he did. Afterwards he wanted to see the side of the machine to ensure that his vote was counted and the officials did not want him to even see the number on the outside... seems fishy to me but like I said, Ive never voted in one
so the question that I have is, Are there seperate locations and seperate booths for different partys? I know in small towns both parties are done in the same booth but is it different in cities? If this is the case then why couldnt an official merely explain tomy father and the others who found validity in my fathers question thatparties were seperated?
i dont know,im not trying to imply a conspiracy just seeking clarification.Thank in advance
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It depends on the local rules. Most places you have to state which party ballot you want. The rules differ as to who can select what party or change parties.
Here in Michigan, you ask for the Democrat or Republican ballot at the voting place. A Democrat can ask for a Republican ballot and vice versa. That doesn't make sense to me, to be honest.
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I heard Jesus He drank wine and I bet we'd get along just fine.
I think the best method would be to have you register for a party at the presidential election. Not as part of the election but as a separate process.
Then at the next primary you would get the ballot for the party you registered for at the last presidential election.
That would eliminate the crossover factor. The crossover is particularly odious when there is an incumbent on one side. In the last election, Bush had a lock on the nomination so this enabled people who normally vote Republican to crossover and vote in the primary for the weakest or weirdest Democratic candidate. Doesn't make sense.
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Proud parents of our own "Daddy's Little Girls"
I heard Jesus He drank wine and I bet we'd get along just fine.
In California, we have our presidential primary in February. In this primary, you can only vote for candidates registered under your party affiliation (i.e. Republican, Democrat, etc.). We have a separate primary where people can vote on all of the other stuff in June and the main or general election in November. I think this is a fair way to do things as I don't think Republicans should choose the Democratic nominee and vice versa. As for people who register Independent, Decline to state or some other form of 3rd party affiliation, I think they should be allowed to vote for the party they've registered and not have Republicans or Democrats choosing their candidate either.
I realize this leaves people who register "Decline to state" in a limbo kind of status and am still thinking about what type of primary rights they should have as there obviously are no candidates running under a decline to state affiliation. On one hand, they should be able to vote for some kind of candidate but on the other hand, they are the ones who decided to take their ball and go home (registration wise) and now are crying about wanting to play the primary voting game.
It's kind of like the kids I would try to catch jumping off the bridge while working boat patrol. They would whine about having the freedom to make their own decision to jump or not and then whine about the consequences of injury or a ticket or sometimes even their buddy dying. If you make a stupid decision, you should accept the potentially stupid and unwanted consequences.
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I live in a FREE state. Here we get the ballot with EVERYBODY on it, thus you can vote FOR a Republican President, and a Democratic councilmen.
There are many states that are NOT free states,where you can only vote one party or the other.
We're talking about the primaries, not the general election. In most states you have to choose which PRIMARY ballot you want. Why should a Democrat be able to choose a GOP candidate? That don't make much sense.
BNH, I'm not sure which member(s) your comment refers to but only 3 of us have posted underneath your previous comment. I think all 3 of us have espoused the same basic argument, i.e. Republicans should be allowed to choose the Republican presidential candidate and Democrats the same, etc. Voting in a primary is how each party accomplishes that. I don't see that as diminishing anybody's freedom or talking out of both sides of my or anybody else's mouth.
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Jesus Christ--The reason for the season!
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.
If you're certain you know everything, there's little opportunity to learn anything.
Primary Election Process Clarification
