Across the country, millions of Americans are effectively excluded from the elections that matter most. In many districts, the outcome of the general election is determined months earlier in low-turnout primary contests. Yet, independent and unaffiliated voters—now comprising 43% of the electorate (Gallup, June 2024)—are barred from participating in partisan primaries in numerous states, despite funding these elections with their tax dollars.

At the heart of OPI is a commitment to empowering every eligible voter with the information and access they need to fully participate in our democracy. We believe no American—especially not the veterans who have fought for our freedoms—should be denied the right to vote because of closed or exclusionary primary systems.

Below we have compiled a list of the primary rules in all 50 states and invite you to look and see what the rules are for voting in primaries in your state! Feel free to share this link with friends and family to spread the word about primary rules in all 50 states and Of Primary Importance to ensure all Americans can vote in their elections.

State	Primary Type	Can Change Party After Primary	Party Change Rules	Party Change Timeline	Resources
Alabama	Open	Open Primary	Must declare a preference for a party on primary election day. Alabama uses a runoff system for primaries: if a primary goes to a runoff, you are only allowed to vote in the runoff election of your preferred party. If you did not vote before the runoff, you can vote in either party's runoff.	Your preference is declared on election day when voting and can be switched simply by declaring your preference the next time voting.	Alabama Secretary of State - FAQs
Alaska	Open	Open Primary	Alaska uses one primary ballot. No need to switch party.	N/A	Alaska Elections
Arizona	Semi-Closed	Yes	Independents or non-affiliated voters can vote in any primary but must update party affiliation and receive a new voter registration card.	New registration card can take 4-6 weeks to arrive. Updated registration must be done at least 29 days before election day.	AZ Secretary of State
Arkansas	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	Arkansas Secretary of State
California	Open	Yes	Single-ballot primary is used for most offices, except for U.S. president, county central committees, and local offices. For primary voting in those offices, requirements depend on party: For American Independent Party, Democratic Party, or the Libertarian Party -  request a crossover ballot without registering party affiliation For Green Party, Peace and Freedom Party, or Republican Party - re-register to vote and declare party affiliation with the desired party	Re-registration must be completed 15 days before election day.	Orange County Registrar of Voters
Colorado	Semi-Closed	Yes	Independents or non-affiliated voters can vote in any ONE primary.	Must be sent in 8 days before election day. If this deadline is missed, the process can be done in-person.	Colorado Secretary of State
Connecticut	Closed	Yes	Affiliation changes can be made here, or by mail/in-person.	3-month waiting period after switching parties before voting eligibility in primaries. Previously independent/unaffiliated voters can switch immediately, if they have been unaffiliated for at least 3 months.	Connecticut Secretary of State
Delaware	Closed	Yes	Must adjust party registration here to vote in primary elections of registered party.	60 days before the Presidential Primary. The Friday before the last Saturday in May for Primary election.	Delaware - Dept. of Elections
Florida	Closed	Yes	Must update party affiliation online, via mail, or in-person.	Must be changed 29 days before election day.	Florida Division of Elections
Georgia	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	Georgia Secretary of State
Hawaii	Open	Open Primary	Voters of any political affiliation can vote in a party's primary. Voters can only choose one party's primary to vote in.	Political affiliation does not need to be changed in order to vote in another party's primary.	Hawaii Office of Elections
Idaho	Closed - A party has to notify the Secretary of State 6 months prior to the primaries that they want an open primary, then an open primary is conducted for that party.	No	An affiliated voter can change their affiliation if they fill out the Party Affiliation Declaration Form and submit it to the county clerk.	Party Affiliation Declaration Form should be submitted to county clerk no later than 5:00 PM on the tenth Friday before the primary elections. After the primary, switching one's political affiliation is not allowed.	Idaho Secretary of State
Illinois	Open	Open Primary	A voter can change their affiliation by requesting the primary ballot of a party or by declaring their affiliation with a party at the poll.	In the next primary, voters can choose the ballot of the party they want to switch to for the upcoming election cycle.	Ballotpedia - Illinois Primary Elections
Indiana	Open	Open Primary	Voters can vote in the primary of their choosing regardless of their affiliation by requesting the primary ballot of the political party they want.	There are laws of intent that dictate a voter must have voted for a majority of a party's nominees in the last election or intend to do so in the upcoming election in order to vote in that party's primary, but these laws are unenforceable.	Allen County Indiana FAQs
Iowa	Open	No	While only registered party members can vote in a party's primary, a voter can change their party affiliation at the polls and vote in that party's primary on election day.	Party affiliation can be changed day of for primary elections. After, a voter cannot change their affiliation until the next primary election.	Des Moines County Elections
Kansas	Semi-Closed	Yes	Affiliated voters can only vote in the primary of the party they are affiliated with. Non-affiliated voters can declare their intent to affiliate with a party on primary election day and vote in that party's primary.	To change one's political information, voters need to modify their registration by completing a new voter registration form which must be done 21 days before an election.	Kansas Secretary of State
Kentucky	Closed	No	To change one's political information, voters need to modify their registration by completing a new voter registration form.	The online form can be done by Dec 31st of the year prior to the primary or in-person by Dec 29th of the year prior to the primary.	US Election Assistance Commission
Louisiana	Closed (In Spring 2026, LA House Reps, Senate, La. Supreme Court Justice, Public Service Comm. (PSC), and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Members will have closed primaries)	Yes	Non-affiliated voters can vote in either party's primary. Voters can change their party affiliation by completing a new voter registration form with their new party	20 days prior to an election if registering online  or 30 days prior to an election if registering in-person or by mail.	Louisiana Secretary of State
Maine	Semi-closed	Yes	Voters can enroll in a new political party either by updating their registration online or completing the Voter Registration Form.	15 days prior to the primary vote of the desired party's primary or whenever changing their residence to a different municipality.  There is a 3-month waiting period for switching enrollment.	Maine Secretary of State
Maryland	Closed* (Political parties can choose whether they want to have open primaries or not, but most elect to have a closed primary)	Yes	Voters can change their political party by using Maryland's Online Voter Registration System, submitting a new application, or making a written request to the local board of elections.	Deadline to change parties is 3 weeks prior to election day.	Maryland State Board of Elections
Massachusetts	Semi-closed	Yes	Members of the same political party and independents can vote in that party's primary	10 days before the primary	Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth
Michigan	Open	Open Primary	For presidential primaries, any registered voter may request a ballot for their preferred party. For other primary elections, voters all receive the same ballot with different columns with each party's races listed.	N/A	Cass County Michigan FAQS
Minnesota	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	Minnesota Secretary of State
Mississippi	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	Ballotpedia Mississippi Primary Elections
Missouri	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	Missouri Secretary of State
Montana	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	Montana Secretary of State
Nebraska	Semi-closed	Yes	Voters need to update entire voter registration to switch parties. Voters registered as "non-partisan" may still vote in primary elections, as Nebraska has nonpartisan state legislature elections.	Consistent with voter registration timeline, voters must update party registration by the second Friday preceding an election, if done in-person at county election offices, or the third Friday preceding an election, if done online, mail, or at the DMV.	Nebraska Secretary of State
Nevada	Closed	Yes	Updated along with voter registration. Can be done on SoS's website, re-registering to vote outright, by calling (702) 455-VOTE (8683), or checking into an early voting or Election Day vote center.	By mail: 4th Tuesday prior to Election Day. Online: Can be same-day, but voters must vote in-person and provide valid ID forms. In-person: can be same-day.	Washoe Country Nevada FAQs
New Hampshire	Semi-closed	Yes	Unaffiliated voters can vote in any primary they chose, but doing so automatically registers them as a member of that party. Voters can stay unaffiliated by filling out forms with election supervisors before leaving the polling place.	Must be done prior to the first day of the filing period for the state or presidential primary elections, or after these respective dates.	New Hampshire Secretary of State
New Jersey	Closed	Yes	Party affiliation is declared via the party affiliation form. Only registered members of a party may vote in their respective primaries.	Previously undeclared or new registered voters may declare party affiliation until Election Day, but existing party members must complete the party affiliation form for a new party 55 days ahead of the primary date.	Warren County New Jersey FAQs
New Mexico	Closed	Yes	Voters must fill out a new voter registration form to switch parties.	28 days prior to an election.	New Mexico Secretary of State
New York	Closed	Yes	Must submit a new voter registration form by mail, online, or in person before the deadline	Must be sent in before Feb 14th of the year the primary takes place; if sent after then, the party change will be put in effect 7 days after the June primary	Tioga County New York Board of Elections
North Carolina	Semi-closed	Yes	Must submit a new voter registration form by mail, online, or in person before the deadline	Must be sent in 25 days before election day	North Carolina State Board of Elections
North Dakota	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	North Dakota Secretary of State
Ohio	Open	Open Primary	Must choose a specific party's ballot to receive for the primary	Must request a ballot of a specific party 30 days in advance	Ohio Secretary of State
Oklahoma	Closed	No	Must submit a new voter registration form by mail before the deadline or change voter information on the Oklahoma online portal	Must be sent in 25 days before election day, cannot be changed from April 1 to August 31 in even-numbered years	Oklahoma State Board of Elections
Oregon	Closed	Yes	Must submit a new voter registration form by mail or in person, or update registration online using the Oregon voting portal prior to deadline	Must register 21 days in advance of the primary election	Oregon Secretary of State
Pennsylvania	Closed	Yes	Must submit a new voter registration form by mail, online, or in person before the deadline	Must register 15 days in advance of the primary election	Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - How to Update your Registration
Rhode Island	Semi-closed	Yes	An unaffiliated voter can vote in any party's primary. However, if you are affiliated with a party, you can only vote in their primary.	Must be sent in 30 days before election day	Rhode Island Secretary of State
South Carolina	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	Ballotpedia - Primary Elections in South Carolina
South Dakota	Closed	Yes	Must submit a new voter registration form by mail to the county auditor before deadline	Must be sent in 15 days before election day	South Dakota Secretary of State
Tennessee	Open	Open Primary	*Day of election - a voter is able to choose either ballot, but by doing so the person declares allegiance to that party	N/A	Ballotpedia - Primary Elections in Tennessee
Texas	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	Ballotpedia - Primary Elections in Texas
Utah	D: Semi-Closed R: Closed	Yes	Democrats must be registered as a Democrat or Independent. Republicans, must be registered as a Republican	Non-presidential elections: April 2026, Presidential elections: Day after the candidacy declaration filing period ends (around Jan 2nd)	Ballotpedia - Primary Elections in Utah
Vermont	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	Vermont State Primary Elections PDF
Virginia	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	Ballotpedia - Primary Elections in Virginia
Washington	Top two primary system	Yes	Regardless of the party, the top-two vote-getters advance to the general election	N/A	Washington Secretary of State
West Virginia	D: Semi-Closed R: Closed	Yes	Starting in 2026, the Republican Party will close the election to Democrats and Independents. While the democrats will remain open to Independents.	Not yet decided due to recent changes.	Ballotpedia - Primary Elections in West Virginia
Wisconsin	Open	Open Primary	N/A	N/A	Ballotpedia - Primary Elections in Wisconsin
Wyoming	Closed	Yes	Must submit a new voter registration form by mail, online, or in person before the deadline	96 days before the primary	Ballotpedia - Primary Elections in Wyoming

This list was researched and put together to the best of our abilities for as much accuracy as possible. Please check your local or state election officials for more details (or complete) information.

And help us continue to keep updating this information so that it is accurate as information changes by donating to Country First Action Foundation, and ensuring that everyone knows their state's voting rules.

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