The 2008 elections coming up will be my first time voting (since before I was not 18 years old). Anyway, I have a few quick question ...
1) Do I need to regester for a party? (even though I have not voted in the past) or would whatever party my parents belong to, be transferred over to me.
2) If I regestered as a republican to vote for Ron Paul, and he does not end up making it to the primaries, would I be able to change my party to democrat and vote?
Thanks in advanced.
2007-10-07 16:46:06 · 7 answers · asked by 2291 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Elections
You are not required to select a party when you register. You can register as an independent. The only time you are required to list the party for whom you wish to vote is the Primary.
Register a s an Independent, when your State's Primary, check Republican on your sign in form.
2007-10-07 16:54:14 · answer #1 · answered by Tigger 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As noted by prior answers, the answer to the questions depend mostly on state law. However, you do have to personally register yourself. You are not registered to vote just because someone else in your family is registered.
If you are in a closed primary state, you may only participate in a party's primary if you are a registered member of that party. The deadline for registering to vote, or for changing parties if you have previously registered as being in another party, is a matter of state law.
If you are in an open or semi-open primary state, you can vote in either party's primary if you register as an independent.
Finally, some states have separate primaries for the presidential election (in February or March) and a later primary for other positions on the ballot (in the late summer or fall). Some of them have rules restricting your ability to vote in one party in the presidential race and a different one for the other positions.
The best thing you can do is check on the Secretary of State's Website for your state. Most have some type of FAQ about registering and voting including a calendar with the relevant deadlines for registering.
2007-10-08 01:25:16 · answer #2 · answered by Tmess2 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1) It depends on the state. Ronpaul2008.com has (upper right corner) a link to state primaries, their status (open vs. closed), and the deadline to register your affiliation, if necessary.
If your state holds closed primaries (restricted to party affiliation), check the same list mentioned above; it also lists the deadline for choosing your affiliation.
2) You don't "have" to change to democrat prior to the general election in 08, since general elections are not closed elections. The only thing this could affect would be your inclusion in telephone surveys.
If you are asking "can I vote again in the democratic primary?", I'm pretty sure the answer is "no." But, yet again, it is ultimately dependent on your state's voting laws.
Texas, for example, is an Open primary state, which allows Rep/Dem/Lib/Ind to vote in either party's primary, but only one.
Additionally, Texas has "sore loser" laws that disallow a candidate who loses a primary from switching party affiliations and trying to get on the ballot under Lib/Ind, etc.
Hope that helps.
2007-10-08 00:16:12 · answer #3 · answered by Cory 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1. No. You don't have to register with a party to vote. But depending on which state you live in you might not be able to vote in the primaries if you aren't registered for a party.
2. No. Not within one election cycle, sorry.
2007-10-07 23:55:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You do not register for a party, you only register to vote. When you vote in a certain parties primary election, they will stamp your voter registration card for that primary, but that doesn't really mean anything except for that particular primary election. In fact, as long a you are registered, you don't even have to take your voter registration card with you to vote. You only need a couple of forms of identification.
2007-10-07 23:57:15 · answer #5 · answered by Sara 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
These questions can only be answered by your particular state laws. However, I can tell you that your party preference does not come over from your parents. You can register as any party or no party.
You can change your party, but deadlines, procedures, etc are determined by your state.
2007-10-08 01:05:54 · answer #6 · answered by A Human Bean 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
YOU CAN REGISTER AS AN INDEPENDENT....
iF YOU WANT TO VOTE IN A PRIMARY, REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT YOU HAVE TO REGISTER AS A MEMBER OF THAT PARTY..............
2007-10-07 23:52:52 · answer #7 · answered by richard t 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋