State-By-State
Primary Elections State-by-State
Map Key
Top-Four Nonpartisan Primary
Jungle Primary
Top-two Primary
Open (Partisan)
Semi-open Primary
Semi-closed Primary
Closed Primary
Click a state for more information.
There are numerous variations of primary election rules which govern voter access. Because there are no unified standards, election law experts themselves often use conflicting terminology to describe the nature of certain primary elections. Below, we have listed the general categories of primaries with short descriptions of the labels we have selected to describe each system as they relate to a voter’s right to participate.
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Partisan Primaries serve the private purpose of selecting a nominee to represent a political party on the general election ballot. In a partisan primary, voters and candidates participate using different ballots for each party, subject to the access requirements generalized below.
A voter cannot participate in the nomination of party candidates unless they are registered members of that party.
A partisan primary system in which a political party has the option, but not obligation, to allow or disallow unaffiliated voters to participate.
A partisan primary system in which a political party must allow unaffiliated voters to participate.
A partisan primary system in which a voter, regardless of his or her party affiliation, can choose to participate in the party primary of their choice.
Primaries that serve the public purpose of narrowing the candidate field for the general election ballot. In a nonpartisan primary, all voters and candidates participate on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation. All nonpartisan primaries are “open” because no voter is excluded on the basis of their party affiliation.
In a top-two primary, all candidates and voters participate on the same ballot and the top-two vote getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election.
Often confused with a “top-two” primary, a jungle primary is not actually a primary election. In fact, a jungle “primary” occurs on the same day as the general election, and if a candidate receives 50%+1 or more of the vote, the election is over and that candidate is elected. Only if no candidate gets more than 50%+1 of the vote do the top-two candidates then participate in a head-to-head runoff election.
Voter registration data provided by and in collaboration with L2 Data, a trusted provider of nonpartisan voter data.
Percentages are rounded to the nearest hundredth decimal.
Last Updated: November 20, 2023.
Registered Voters: 3,466,701
Voters do not register with a political party.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 537,615
Democratic Party: 65,940 (12.27%)
Republican Party: 124,595 (23.16%)
Third Party/Other: 27,327 (5.08%)
Unaffiliated: 319,753 (59.48%)
Democratic, Independence, Libertarian, Republican
Registered Voters: 4,206,639
Democratic Party: 1,264,464 (30.06%)
Republican Party: 1,435,739 (34.13%)
Third Party/Other: 280,228 (6.66%)
Unaffiliated: 1,226,208 (29.15%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Registered Voters: 1,576,910
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Constitution, Democratic, Green, Libertarian Republican
Total Registered: 22,114,456
Democratic Party: 10,353,432 (46.82%)
Republican Party: 5,286,269 (23.90%)
Third Party/Other: 1,559,773 (7.05%)
Unaffiliated: 4,914,982 (22.23%)
Democratic, Green, Independent, Libertarian, Peace & Freedom, Republican
Registered Voters: 3,839,945
Voters do not register with a political party.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 2,317,657
Democrats: 837,193 (36.12%)
Republican: 470,471 (20.30%)
Third party/Other: 36,013 (1.55%)
Unaffiliated: 973,980 (42.02%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 718,772
Democratic Party: 337,199 (46.91%)
Republican Party: 196,906 (27.40%)
Third Party/Other: 16,346 (2.27%)
Unaffiliated: 168,321 (23.42%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
Total Registered Voters: 545,762
Democratic Party: 414,596 (75.97%)
Republican Party: 28,213 (5.17%)
Third Party/Other: 8,472 (1.55%)
Unaffiliated: 94,481 (17.31%)
None currently underway.
Green, Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
None found.
Registered Voters: 14,609,682
Democratic Party: 4,892,290 (33.50%)
Republican Party: 5,305,001 (36.31%)
Third Party/Other: 309,123 (2.12%)
Unaffiliated: 4,103,268 (28.09%)
Democratic, Republican
Registered voters: 7,279,310
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 767,559
Voters do not register with a political party.
The Supreme Court rejected an attempt by the Democratic party to close their currently open primaries.
None found.
None found.
Registered Voters: 923,517
Democratic Party: 114,742 (12.42%)
Republican Party: 545,993 (59.12%)
Third Party/Other: 13,842 (1.50%)
Unaffiliated: 248,940 (26.96%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
Registered Voters: 8,224,350
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered voters: 4,305,933
Voters do not register by political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
Registered Voters: 2,083,979
Democratic Party: 631,689 (30.31%)
Republican Party: 718,901 (34.50%)
Third Party/Other: 18,289 (0.90%)
Unaffiliated: 715,100 (34.31%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
None found.
Registered Voters: 1,802,893
Democratic Party: 472,814 (26.23%)
Republican Party: 819,649 (45.46%)
Third Party/Other: 21,575 (1.20%)
Unaffiliated: 488,855 (27.12%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Registered Voters: 3,142,316
Democratic Party: 1,383,902 (44.04%)
Republican Party: 1,451,022 (46.18%)
Third Party/Other: 178,977 (5.70%)
Unaffiliated: 128,415 (4.09%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Independent, Republican
Registered Voters: 2,854,280
Democratic Party: 1,110,949 (38.92%)
Republican Party: 966,993 (33.88%)
Third Party/Other: 17,172 (0.60%)
Unaffiliated: 759,166 (26.60%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
Registered Voters: 1,039,517
Democratic Party: 365,137 (35.13%)
Republican Party: 294,501 (28.33%)
Third Party/Other: 44,430 (4.27%)
Unaffiliated: 335,449 (32.27%)
Democratic, Green, Republican
Registered Voters: 4,135,597
Democratic Party: 2,228,086 (53.88%)
Republican Party: 987,206 (23.87%)
Third Party/Other: 70,795 (1.71%)
Unaffiliated: 849,510 (20.54%)
Benisek v Lamone - Challenging the congressional redistricting plan enacted by the Maryland General Assembly following the 2010 Census.
Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Republican
Registered Voters: 4,578,845
Democratic Party: 1,308,596 (28.58%)
Republican Party: 396,990 (8.67%)
Third Party/Other: 49,718 (1.09%)
Unaffiliated: 2,823,541 (61.66%)
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Registered voters: 7,721,482
Voters do not register with a political party.
Litigation pending. The ACLU filed a challenge on Nov. 2 to Massachusetts’s law that requires voters to register 20 days before an election.
Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Natural Law, Republican, U.S. Taxpayer’s
Registered voters: 3,514,355
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, Republican
Registered Voters: 1,932,172
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
Registered Voters: 4,047,817
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Constitution, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Republican
Registered Voters: 677,865
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Constitution, Libertarian, Republican
Registered Voters: 1,181,974
Democratic Party: 320,479 (27.11%)
Republican Party: 583,758 (49.39%)
Third Party/Other: 22,540 (1.90%)
Unaffiliated: 255,197 (21.60%)
None currently underway.
Constitution, Libertarian, Republican
Registered Voters: 2,057,615
Democratic Party: 647,408 (31.46%)
Republican Party: 578,306 (28.11%)
Third Party/Other: 157,384 (7.65%)
Unaffiliated: 674,517 (32.78%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 1,000,925
Democratic Party: 303,060 (30.28%)
Republican Party: 298,470 (29.82%)
Unaffiliated: 399,395 (39.90%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 6,112,548
Democratic Party: 2,356,125 (38.55%)
Republican Party: 1,458,292 (23.86%)
Third Party/Other: 74,017 (1.21%)
Unaffiliated: 2,224,114 (36.39%)
None currently underway.
Conservative, Constitution, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Natural Law, Reform Party, Republican, Socialist
Registered Voters: 1,235,665
Democratic Party: 548,100 (44.36%)
Republican Party: 381,217 (30.85%)
Third Party/Other: 25,089 (2.03%)
Unaffiliated: 281,259 (22.76%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 14,520,476
Democratic Party: 7,146,722 (49.22%)
Republican Party: 3,147,842 (21.68%)
Third Party/Other: 749,690 (5.16%)
Unaffiliated: 3,476,222 (23.94%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 6,832,197
Democratic Party: 2,249,707 (32.93%)
Republican Party: 2,068,907(30.28%)
Third Party/Other: 46,398 (0.68%)
Unaffiliated: 2,467,185 (36.11%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Registered Voters: 422,819
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican, Libertarian
None found.
Registered Voters: 7,519,199
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Total Registered Voters: 2,116,074
Democratic Party: 602,585 (28.48%)
Republican Party: 1,102,559 (52.10%)
Third Party/Other: 19,736 (.93%)
Unaffiliated: 391,194 (18.49%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Registered Voters: 3,284,006
Democratic Party: 1,075,347 (32.75%)
Republican Party: 764,562 (23.28%)
Third Party/Other: 227,178 (6.92%)
Unaffiliated: 1,216,919 (37.06%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Registered Voters: 8,170,351
Democratic Party: 3,689,557 (45.16%)
Republican Party: 3,287,264(40.23%)
Third Party/Other: 223,765 (2.74%)
Unaffiliated: 969,765 (11.87%)
League of Women Voters Pennsylvania et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - Lawsuit claiming Pennsylvania's districts as drawn violate the constitution’s prohibition of partisan gerrymandering
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 734,914
Democratic Party: 295,075 (40.15%)
Republican Party: 111,230 (13.74%)
Unaffiliated: 338,891 (46.11%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 3,403,082
Democratic Party: 1,530,535 (44.98%)
Republican Party: 1,518,588 (44.62%)
Unaffiliated: 353,959 (10.40%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Green, Independence, Labor, Libertarian, Republican, United Citizens, Working Families
None found.
Registered Voters: 580,051
Democratic Party: 143,409 (24.72%)
Republican Party: 289,573 (49.92%)
Third Party/Other: 3,568 (.62%)
Unaffiliated: 143,501 (24.74%).
None currently underway.
Constitution, Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Registered Voters: 4,166,638
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 16,625,506
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 1,520,941
Democratic Party: 207,180 (13.62%)
Republican Party: 785,421 (51.64%)
Third Party/Other: 84,213 (5.54%)
Unaffiliated: 444,127 (29.20%)
None currently underway.
Constitution, Democratic, Independent American, Libertarian, and Republican
None found.
Registered Voters: 462,397
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Progressive, Republican
None found.
Registered Voters: 5,743,089
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 4,970,937
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Washington does not have major party status.
Registered Voters: 1,092,051
Democratic Party: 344,717 (31.57%)
Republican Party: 437526 (40.07%)
Third Party/Other: 47,944 (4.39%)
Unaffiliated: 261,864 (23.98%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 4,772,962
Voters do not register with a political party.
Gill v. Whitford - Partisan gerrymandering case awaiting oral argument before SCOTUS
Democratic, Republican
Registered Voters: 286,354
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
