Do we know how many registered Democrats and registered Republican voters there are in the US? What about state by state? Just curious… - Jinx
Many states (like here in Minnesota) do not register voters as a member of any party, just as voters.
And the number of registered voters by party would have to be counted at a specific time, since it changes. We expect the number of registered voters in Minnesota to go up by many thousand voters next Tuesday!
21 states have open primaries, in which you may vote for the party of your choice; there is no party registration.
Do you mean you can register on Election Day? I guess this may be that contraversial “provisional” registration some states, like DE, allow? Wow! :eek:
- Jinx
Wow, can this be so? I can’t imagine a Primary Election that is not directly tied to the political parties! Weird! - Jinx
I can only speak to Wisconsin, but same-day registration is not provisional here. We allow voters to register, fully and completely, by establishing proof of residency at their current address. This may be done by presenting a lease, utility bill or other documentation. It may also be done by having a registered voter swear or affirm to the new voter’s residency.
As for the primary, IIRC all the candidates are on one ballot, separated by party, so you don’t even have to ask for a particular party ballot. If you vote for people of multiple parties, though, either in the same race or different races, your entire ballot is invalidated.
When I first registered to vote, I lived in Maryland and was required to declare a party. I chose “Independent,” and was not allowed to vote in primaries. In 1998 I moved to Virginia (one of the states that Walloon refers to), but didn’t find out until too late in 2000 that I’m allowed to vote in the primary elections here. Unfortunately, I’m so used to the idea of skipping primaries that I forgot about them this year. :smack: I guess there’s always 2008…
I still call myself a “registered Independent,” even though my Commonwealth of Virginia voter card lists no party affiliation. 
This ought to really blow your mind. My state is the only one that has no registration whatsoever.
Note: registering to vote is not the same as registering as a party voter. It varies, as said, from state to state.
In my state:
You have to register to vote in advance. Party affiliation is not involved.
During a primary vote, you tell the nice people at the polling place which (if any) party you are voting for that day. You then are allowed to vote using 1 of 3 ballots: Dem.+non-partisan, Rep.+non-partisan or non-partisan. (No third party in recent years has qualified to have its own primary.) If there is a runoff for a partisan race, you can only vote in the runoff if you voted that party in the primary.
But the next primary you can pick any option all over again.
We have many “cross-over” voters and several times they have made the difference in the primary.
Does this mean that in Wisconsin you have to vote a straight ticket? You can’t vote, say, for the Republican candidate for the House of Representatives, and the Democratic candidate for President?
I think Otto meant only in primaries can you not cross parties to vote. That’s true to the best of my recollection from when I lived there, and is true in Illinois currently.
That makes sense. I misunderstood his point.
You are correct sir. Or madam. If your primary ballot contains votes for candidates of more than one party it is invalid.
Madam. Illinois’ primary ballots are restricted by having ballots for “Democratic”, “Republican”, and “Independent” parties only. I don’t recall if there are write-in blanks; if so I assume you could invalidate your ballot by writing-in a candidate from another party.
I told the poll worker in 1992 in Illinois that I wanted to write in a candidate. I was told I could but the vote would not be counted. I wrote it in anyway. I have no idea if the poll worker was correct and if so whether the other votes on the ballot were tallied.