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Presidential Primary Elections Information To find out how to vote in the NJ Primary on February 5th, Click here. The series of presidential primary elections and caucuses is one of the first steps in the long, complex process of electing the President of the United States of America. The primary elections are run by state and local governments in the states that do not have caucuses instead. A state primary election usually determines which candidates for president will be supported by that state at the national convention of each political party. The political parties each officially nominate their candidates for President at their national conventions, which take place in summer of the election year. Depending on state law, when voters cast ballots for a candidate in a presidential caucus or primary, they may be actually voting to award delegates "bound" to that candidate in the national convention. The rules for the awarding of delegates vary from party to party, state to state, and election to election. If no candidate wins a majority of delegates during the primary season, that party's nominee is chosen by their convention. However, this has not happened since 1976. For 2008, both the Republicans and the Democrats have moved many of their primary dates up, with many states holding primaries earlier than ever before. For an updated list of primaries, Click Here (Democratic) or Here (Republican). Primary Rules Primaries are governed by state and state party rules. Binding- Nearly all states have binding primaries, in which the results of the election legally bind some or all of the delegates to vote for a particular candidate at the national convention, whether for a certain number of ballots or until the candidate releases the delegates. Non-binding- A handful of states hold a non-binding primary, which may select candidates to a state convention that then selects delegates.
Primary Types Closed- the most common system; only voters registered with a party may vote in that party's primary. Open- any voter may vote in any party's primary. In both of these systems, a voter may participate in only one primary; no voter can vote in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.
Party Primary Representation Democrat- Under the 2008 Democratic Party selection rules, delegates are selected under proportional representation, with a candidate requiring a minimum threshold of 15% in a state in order to receive delegates. In addition, the Democratic Party has the right to reject any candidate under their bylaws. Each state publishes a Delegate Selection Plan that notes the mechanics of calculating the number of delegates per congressional district and explains how votes are translated from local conventions to the state and national convention. Republican- There are no provisions requiring proportional representation. Many states used the winner-take-all method in 2004.
New Jersey Primaries
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