Staying Fit
The 2024 election season officially gets underway on Jan. 15 in Iowa, as voting in the nation’s presidential primaries and caucuses begins, and continues through June.
The rules can be complicated, so it pays to know the voting requirements for your state before you head to the polls. Are you eligible to cast a primary ballot? Do you need to register in advance? What kind of identification, if any, is required? You’ll find the answers here.
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The vast majority of states hold primaries to pick presidential nominees. But nine states, including Iowa, still select candidates via a caucus. Unlike a conventional primary, in which each voter simply casts a ballot in private, a caucus is a simultaneous gathering of voters who meet to openly select their preference.
This year both parties will hold caucuses only in Iowa, Idaho and Wyoming. Just Republicans will caucus in Alaska, Hawaii, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota and Utah.
Can I vote in a primary?
The rules that determine who can vote in primaries vary widely by state. Most primaries fall under one of these systems.
Closed: Only voters registered with the party holding the primary can vote. The deadline for affiliating with a party varies by state.
Partially closed: Political parties can decide before each election whether voters not registered with any party (often called unaffiliated voters) may participate in their nominating contest. Under this system, Democrats could allow independents to vote while still excluding Republicans.
Open: Voters may cast a ballot in either party’s primary without registering with that party or publicly declaring which ballot they want.
Partially open: Under this system, states allow voters to cast a ballot with either party — but they must ask for a party’s ballot publicly. Some states allow unaffiliated voters to vote in either primary but don’t let members of one party cross over and vote in the opposing party’s contest.
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