List of States with Open and Closed Primaries
Primaries: Open and Closed
Open primaries (or pick-a-party) are those in which voters of any affiliation may vote for the slate of any party.
Closed primaries are those in which only the voters affiliated with a party may vote in its primary.
Blanket primaries (or “jungle primaries”) are those in which voters, regardless of affiliation, may choose the party primary in which they want to vote on an office-by-office basis. The blanket primary was struck down in 2001 by the Supreme Court in CA Democratic Party v. Jones.
The following is a running list of states by primary type: open, potentially closed, or with special provisions. We say “potentially” because these states require voters to affiliate by party, which allows parties the option to close their primaries.
Please contact mailto:info@fairvote.org?Subject=Open%20and%20closed%20primaries%20page with any questions.
| State | Closed | Open | Other | Remarks |
| Alabama | x | |||
| Alaska | x | Blanket primary for four of five registered parties. Republicans use closed primary. | ||
| Arizona | x | |||
| Arkansas | x | Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party. | ||
| California | x | |||
| Colorado | x | |||
| Connecticut | x | |||
| Delaware | x | |||
| District of Columbia | x | |||
| Florida | x | |||
| Georgia | x | Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party. | ||
| Hawaii | x | |||
| Idaho | x | |||
| Illinois | x | Must vote in primary of same party as last primary vote. Loosely enforced. | ||
| Indiana | x | |||
| Iowa | x | Voter may change registration at polls. | ||
| Kansas | x | |||
| Kentucky | x | |||
| Louisiana | x | “Effectively open. Top-two runoff system (\”"cajun primary\”") used. Closed primary used for Congressional races after 2006.” | ||
| Maine | x | |||
| Maryland | x | |||
| Massachusetts | x | |||
| Michigan | x | |||
| Minnesota | x | |||
| Mississippi | x | |||
| Missouri | x | |||
| Montana | x | |||
| Nebraska | x | |||
| Nevada | x | |||
| New Hampshire | x | |||
| New Jersey | x | |||
| New Mexico | x | |||
| New York | x | |||
| North Carolina | x | |||
| North Dakota | x | |||
| Ohio | x | Must vote in primary of same party as last primary vote. Loosely enforced. | ||
| Oklahoma | x | |||
| Oregon | x | |||
| Pennsylvania | x | |||
| Rhode Island | x | |||
| South Carolina | x | Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party. | ||
| South Dakota | x | |||
| Tennessee | x | |||
| Texas | x | Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party. | ||
| Utah | x | Currently only Republicans close primary. | ||
| Vermont | x | |||
| Virginia | x | |||
| Washington | x | |||
| West Virginia | x | Currently only Democrats close primary. | ||
| Wisconsin | x | |||
| Wyoming | x |
