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.
Population: 4,903,185
Registered Voters: 3,576,107 (72.93% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 731,545
Registered Voters: 590,422 (80.71% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 78,664 (13.32%)
Republican Party: 142,266 (24.15%)
Third Party/Other: 28,886 (4.89%)
Unaffiliated: 340,606 (57.69%)
Democratic, Independence, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 7,218,717
Registered Voters: 3,989,214 (54.81% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 1,293,084 (32.41%)
Republican Party: 1,389,960 (34.84%)
Third Party/Other: 32,965 (.83%)
Unaffiliated: 1,273,215 (31.92%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 3,017,804
Registered Voters: 1,755,775 (58.18%)
Voters do not register with a political party
None currently underway.
Constitution, Democratic, Green, Libertarian Republican
Population: 39,512,223
Total Registered: 20,921,513 (83.49%)
Democratic Party: 9,691,855 (46.32%)
Republican Party: 5,018,332 (23.99%)
Third party/other: 1,070,557 (5.12%)
Unaffiliated: 5,140,769 (24.57%)
Democratic, Green, Independent, Libertarian, Peace & Freedom, Republican
Population: 5,758,736
Registered Voters: 3,571,123 (62.01% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party
Democratic, Republican
Population: 3,565,287
Registered Voters: 2,375,537 (66.63% of pop.)
Democrats: 872,481 (36.73%)
Republican: 486, 911 (20.50%)
Third Party/ Other: 36, 692 (1.54%)
Unaffiliated: 979, 453 (41.23%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 973,764
Registered Voters: 735,293 (75.51% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 351,513 (47.80%)
Republican Party: 204,936 (27.87%)
Third Party/Other: 13,456 (1.83%)
Unaffiliated: 165,388 (22.49%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
Total Registered Voters: 481,043
Democrats: 365,719 (76.03%)
Republicans: 29,587 (6.15%)
Unaffiliated: 79,310 (16.49%)
Third Party/Other: 6,427 (1.34%)
None currently underway.
Green, Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
None found.
Population: 21,477,737
Registered Voters: 13,809,451 (64.30% of pop.)
Democrats: 5,142,554 (37.24%)
Republicans: 4,892,347 (35.43%)
3rd Party/other: 168,865 (1.22%)
Unaffiliated: 3,605,685 (26.11%)
Democratic, Republican
Population: 10,617,423
Registered voters: 7,021,007 (66.13% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 1,415,872
Registered Voters: 795,248 (56.16% of pop.)
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.
Population: 1,787,065
Registered Voters: 907,276 (50.77% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 127,499 (14.05%)
Republican Party: 487,639 (53.75%)
Third Party/Other: 11,387 (1.26%)
Unaffiliated: 280,751 (30.94%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
Population: 12,671,821
Registered Voters: 6,068,000 (47.89% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 6,732,219
Registered voters: 4,526,663 (67.24% of pop.)
Voters do not register by political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
Population: 3,155,070
Registered Voters: 2,160,405 (68.47% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 658,191 (30.47%)
Republican Party: 673,191 (31.16%)
Third Party/Other: 17,882 (.83%)
Unaffiliated: 811,138 (37.55%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
None found.
Population: 2,913,314
Registered Voters: 1,851,397 (63.55% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 480,640 (25.96%)
Republican Party: 812,319 (43.88%)
Third Party/Other: 18,438 (1%)
Unaffiliated: 540,000 (29.17%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 4,467,872
Registered Voters: 3,517,567 (78.73%)
Democratic Party: 1,670,789 (47.49%)
Republican Party: 1,533,095 (43.58%)
Third Party/Other: 129,894 (3.69%)
Unaffiliated: 183,787 (5.22%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Independent, Republican
Population: 4,648,794
Registered Voters: 3,019,794 (64.96% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 1,243,943 (41.19%)
Republican Party: 984,207 (32.59%)
Third Party/Other: 791,644 (26.22%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
Population: 1,344,212
Registered Voters: 1,063,383 (79.11% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 386,786 (36.37%)
Republican Party: 295,122 (27.75%)
Third Party/Other: 41,693 (3.92%)
Unaffiliated: 339,782 (31.95%)
Democratic, Green, Republican
Population: 6,045,680
Registered Voters: 3,954,027 (65.40% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 2,173,884 (55%)
Republican Party: 1,008,369 (25.50%)
Third Party/Other: 63,762 (1.61%)
Unaffiliated: 708,012 (17.90%)
Benisek v Lamone - Challenging the congressional redistricting plan enacted by the Maryland General Assembly following the 2010 Census.
Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 6,892,503
Registered Voters: 4,581,319 (66.47% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 1,491,600 (32.56%)
Republican Party: 462,586 (31.01%)
Third Party/Other: 63,057 (1.38%)
Unaffiliated: 2,564,076 (55.97%)
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 9,986,857
registered voters: 7,784,310 (77.95% of pop.)
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
Population: 5,639,639
Registered voters: 3,422,236 (60.68% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, Republican
Population: 2, 976, 149
Registered Voters: 1, 599, 000 (53.73% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
Population: 6,137,428
Registered Voters: 4,213,092 (68.65% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Constitution, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 1,068,778
Registered Voters: 704,822 (65.95% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Constitution, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 1,934,408
Registered Voters: 1,228,308 (63.50% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 360,449 (29.35%)
Republican Party: 585,876 (47.70%)
Third Party/Other: 15,940 (1.30%)
Unaffiliated: 266,043 (21.66%)
None currently underway.
Constitution, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 3,080,156
Registered Voters: 1,827,386 (59.33% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 698,044 (38.20%)
Republican Party: 587,198 (32.13%)
Third Party/Other: 118,233 (6.47%)
Unaffiliated: 423,911 (23.20%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 1,359,711
Registered Voters: 1,009,004 (74.21% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 284,174 (28.16%)
Republican Party: 307,360 (30.46%)
Third Party/Other: 1,154 (.11%)
Unaffiliated: 415,316 (41.16%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 8,882,190
Registered Voters: 6,245,885 (70.32% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 2,470,200 (39.55%)
Republican Party: 1,403,024 (22.46%)
Third Party/Other: 79,301
Unaffiliated: 2,293,360 (36.72%)
None currently underway.
Conservative, Constitution, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Natural Law, Reform Party, Republican, Socialist
Population: 2,096,829
Registered Voters: 1,370,739 (65.37% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 597,533 (45.60%)
Republican party: 405,363 (30.90%)
Third Party/Other: 24,790 (1.89%)
Unaffiliated: 283,053 (21.60%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 19,453,561
Registered Voters: 12,971,543 (66.68% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 6,563,866 (50.60%)
Republican Party: 2,843,692 (21.92%)
Third Party/Other: 741,833 (5.72%)
Unaffiliated: 2,822,102 (21.76%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 10,488,084
Registered Voters: 7,242,242. (69.05%. of pop.)
Democratic Party: 2,585,688 (35.70%)
Republican Party: 2,185,854 (30.18%)
Third Party/Other: 52,768 (.73%)
Unaffiliated: 2,417,932 (33.39%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 762,062
Registered Voters: 579,621 (76.06% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican, Libertarian
None found.
Population: 11,689,100
Registered Voters: 7,774,767 (66.51% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Total Registered Voters: 2,016,157
Democrats: 769,772 (38.18%)
Republicans: 942,621 (46.75%)
Unaffiliated: 298,867 (14.82%)
Third Party/Other: 4,897 (.24%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 4,217,737
Registered Voters: 2,843,060 (67.41% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 1,008,131 (35.46%)
Republican Party: 720,960 (25.36%)
Third Party/Other: 181,143 (6.37%)
Unaffiliated: 932,826 (32.81%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 12,801,989
Registered Voters: 8,842,893 (69.14%. of pop.)
Democratic Party: 4,150,678 (46.94%)
Republican Party: 3,426,563 (38.75%)
Third Party/Other: 1,265,652 (14.31%)
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
Population: 1,059,361
Registered Voters: 795,212 (75.16% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 351,296 (44%)
Republican Party: 111,230 (14%)
Unaffiliated: 332,686 (42%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 5,148,714
Registered Voters: 3,370,306 (65.46% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
American, Constitution, Democratic, Green, Independence, Labor, Libertarian, Republican, United Citizens, Working Families
None found.
Population: 884,659
Registered Voters: 565,596 (64.13% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 156,379 (27.65%)
Republican Party: 271,548 (48.01%)
Third Party/Other: 3,468 (.61%)
Unaffiliated: 134,201 (23.72%).
None currently underway.
Constitution, Democratic, Libertarian, Republican
Population: 6,829,174
Registered Voters: 3,834,847 (56.15% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 28,995,881
Registered Voters: 16,211,198 (55.91% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 3,205,958
Registered Voters: 1,794,660 (56.17% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 259,274 (14.45%)
Republican Party: 894,317 (49.83%)
Third Party/Other: 89,445 (4.98%)
Unaffiliated: 551,624 (30.74%)
None currently underway.
Constitution, Democratic, Independent American, Libertarian, and Republican
None found.
Population: 623, 989
Registered Voters: 488,787 (78.33% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Progressive, Republican
None found.
Population: 8,535,519
Registered Voters: 5,628,035 (65.94% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 7,614,893
Registered Voters: 4,630,377 (60.81% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Washington does not have major party status.
Population: 1,792,147
Registered Voters: 1,234,804 (68.90% of pop.)
Democratic Party: 472,238 (38.24%)
Republican Party: 430,593 (34.87%)
Third Party/Other: 48,562 (3.94%)
Unaffiliated: 283,411 (22.95%)
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
Population: 5,822,434
Registered Voters: 3,420,587 (58.75% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
Gill v. Whitford - Partisan gerrymandering case awaiting oral argument before SCOTUS
Democratic, Republican
Population: 578,759
Total Registered Voters: 221,549 (38.28% of pop.)
Voters do not register with a political party.
None currently underway.
Democratic, Republican
None found.
