Do Americans have to register with a party?

Question

I just keep seeing people say "I'm registered Democrate", "I'm registered Green". What exactly does that mean? Why do you have to register? And why do Americans carry little registration cards in their wallets/purses?

I ask because it doesn't work like that in Canada. In each riding the voting place receives a list of names that are Canadian citizens (from the federal gvt databases) that they then check against your ID. I've never had to "register" for anything like that.

Answer 1

Well, you originally have to register to vote in the first place.  That's simply to make sure you're eligible to vote, live in the area that you say you live in, and all that stuff.  Technically, if you go to a voting station, show them a form of ID, and want to vote, by law, they cannot turn you away.  But you will have to fill out a question ballot, which will later be checked as to see whether or not you should have voted.

Now, when you register to vote, depending on the state, you will need to register as a member of a party.  Some states you don't have to.  This is in regards to how states run their primary elections, where sometimes only Dems and Reps are allowed to vote in the Primaries, whereas in others, everyone is (Open Primary).

There are rules and whatnot.

Answer 2

You dont have to join a party, and you dont carry a card. But to vote in the Primary in most states you must be a member of the party. California requires that you vote only for you party.

Answer 3

No. I'm registered as non-partisan. There are certain races in the primary system which are classified as non-partisan. Among those are judges and certain municipal and county officials. I carry my voter registration card in my wallet so it is there when I go to the polls. They compare it against the affidavit I filled out to vote when I first registered in Nevada some 25+ years ago. It has a scannable line on it and that comes in handy when I do early voting.

Those who are registered with a certain party are able to vote on the person(s) in a primary election to represent their party on the ballot for the general election. Ours is a two-step process. In your system the party selects the candidate for that riding and the riding association may (or not) ratify that decision in advance of election day. You also get the whole mess over in less than 90 days after your Prime Minister asks for the dissolution of parliament and a new election is held. By comparison, our process is an electoral version of the Chinese water torture. LOL!

Answer 4

Depends on the state.  Each state sets its own procedure.

Answer 5

You can register with either party or as an independent.  If you register as either, then you can vote in the primary election for that party.  You have to be registered something to vote.  If you're not sure, independent is the way to go.

Answer 6

Depends state to state.  In my state Mississippi you don't register for one party or another, you can vote in either primary you want.

Answer 7

that's a good question. If we do, why do we have to?

Answer 8

no you can choose non party enrollment, you just can't vote in any primary, only the general election.