Closed primary

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A closed primary is a type of direct primary limited to registered party members who have declared their party affiliation, in order to vote in the election. The closed primary serves to encourage party unity and prevent members of other parties from infiltrating and voting to nominate weak candidates. However, critics claim that this type of primary disenfranchises independent voters and puts more moderate candidates at a disadvantage.

The opposite is an open primary, that is open to voters regardless of their party affiliation and status. Another possibility is the semi-closed primary, where independent voters may choose at the poll which party's primary to vote for.

In a closed primary, voters on Election Day must choose one political party's ballot. Only Democratic candidates are found on the Democratic ballot. Republican candidates are found on the Republican ballot. Voters must choose only one ballot. Therefore, in open primaries, voters receive the same ballot, which contain the candidates' names from all political parties. The voters do not have to declare their party affiliation in open primaries.

States, commonwealths, districts, and territories that have closed primaries^{[citation needed]}:

• Arizona
• California (Republican closed, Democratic semi-closed)
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware ^[1]
• District of Columbia
• Florida ^[2]
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Massachusetts (Semi-closed primary)
• Nebraska
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina (Semi-closed primary)^[3]
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Puerto Rico
• Rhode Island (Semi-closed primary)^[4]
• South Dakota
• Utah
• West Virginia (Semi-closed primary)^[5]

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