11 Facts About Primary Elections

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1. From March until November, every state will have a primary election this year leading up to the general election on November 6th.^[“2018 State Primary Election Dates.” National Conference of State Legislatures. Accessed April 6, 2018, http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/2018-state-primary-election-dates.aspx]
2. In 75% of all elections, the outcome is determined in the first round of voting—the primary.^[“Myths and Facts.” Open Primaries. Accessed April 6, 2018, https://www.openprimaries.org/myths_and_facts]
3. Record-high youth turnout in the 2016 Michigan and Mississippi primaries are presumed to have swung the primary in favor of their preferred candidate.^[“Young Voters at Core of Sanders Upset in Michigan; Republican Youth Participation Continues to Rise.” CIRCLE. Accessed April 6, 2018, http://civicyouth.org/michigan-mississippi-primaries-2016/]
4. In many states, 17 year-olds can vote in the primary as long as they will be 18 by the general election.^[“Voter Registration Age Requirements by State.” USA.gov. Accessed April 6, 2018, https://www.usa.gov/voter-registration-age-requirements]
5. Primaries can have many benefits on democracy. They’ve been shown to strengthen the competitiveness of political parties by expanding their constituent base to a more representative group of citizens.^[Ober, Jed. “Here’s Why Primaries Are Good for Democracy.” Foreign Policy. Accessed April 6, 2018, http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/13/heres-why-primaries-are-good-for-democracy/]
6. There are two types of primary elections: partisan, which are specific to a political party, and non-partisan.^[“Primary Elections Unscrambled.” PBS Newshour. Accessed April 6, 2018, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/primary-elections-unscrambled]
7. The purpose of a non-partisan primary is to narrow the field of candidates for a race, while the purpose for a partisan primary is to determine the nominees for political parties in preparation for a general election.^[“Primary Election.” Ballotpedia. Accessed April 6, 2018, https://ballotpedia.org/Primary_election]
8. Partisan primaries come in a few varieties: open, closed, semi-closed. Essentially the type of partisan primary determines whether people who have not declared a party may vote.^[“Primary Elections Unscrambled.” PBS Newshour. Accessed April 6, 2018, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/primary-elections-unscrambled]
9. Non-partisan primaries are top-two, meaning that the two candidates who received the most votes progress to the general election.^[“Primary Elections Unscrambled.” PBS Newshour. Accessed April 6, 2018, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/primary-elections-unscrambled]
10. Each state has different laws, dictating what type of primary is utilized.^[“Primary Elections Unscrambled.” PBS Newshour. Accessed April 6, 2018, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/primary-elections-unscrambled]
11. You MUST be registered to vote (deadlines vary by state) in order to vote in the primaries.^[“Voter Registration Age Requirements by State.” USA.gov. Accessed April 6, 2018, https://www.usa.gov/voter-registration-age-requirements]