# Registered as a republican/democratic voter... what the?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registered-as-a-republican-democratic-voter-what-the/191180>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 27, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registered-as-a-republican-democratic-voter-what-the/191180 "2003-07-27T01:39:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registered-as-a-republican-democratic-voter-what-the/191180/21 "2003-07-27T21:39:27Z")

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> [@](#):
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> \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \*  
> \*\*The effect of open primaries is to further homogenize the two major political parties. Crossover votes tend to force the eventual nominees toward the center; it’s no wonder we end up with Democrats that resemble Republicans and visa versa. Mark me down as one who prefers closed primary elections; political parties should stand for something. \*\*

I don’t see how closed primaries prevent anyone but those who don’t understand the system from voting. I have been a registered Republican and a registered Democrat. It all depended on who had the more interesting races. Truth is I’ve mostly been registered as a Democrat since they tend to have the more interesting races, if not candidates. 😉

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**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registered-as-a-republican-democratic-voter-what-the/191180/22 "2003-07-27T21:42:46Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \*  
> \*\*The effect of open primaries is to further homogenize the two major political parties. Crossover votes tend to force the eventual nominees toward the center; it’s no wonder we end up with Democrats that resemble Republicans and visa versa. Mark me down as one who prefers closed primary elections; political parties should stand for something. \*\*

Not from what I’ve seen.

From my POV, neither of the parties runs toward the center. And both try very hard to court the far left and the far right and it shows in the party platforms and the candidates.

Is there a state where open ballots have had that effect?

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