What do primary elections decided

In most Northern states, William Henry Harrison appeared on the general election ballot, while Hugh White got the nod in most Southern ones. The idea was that running multiple candidates with distinct regional appeals could successfully deny Martin Van Buren a majority in the Electoral College, throwing the choice to the US House of Representatives.

The selection of the Whig on each state's ballot was left up to the local party. Had the gambit worked, one could imagine the system of multiple nominees becoming entrenched. But it did not work. Van Buren won the election, and in subsequent contests the Whigs emulated the Democrats, picking a single nominee at a broad national convention with representatives from all states.

Conventions are still held today, but they are essentially publicity stunts. At best, they're counting exercises in which the point is simply to crown the candidate who already enjoys the support of most of the delegates.

But historical conventions were real decision-making bodies, where a cast of locally selected elites would come together to genuinely choose someone. That opened the door to outcomes like the Whigs drafting celebrity war heroes Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott in and , without the candidates needing to mount vigorous primary campaigns.

The convention system also allowed for the emergence of "dark horse" candidates like Democratic nominee James K. Polk , who was not even considered a contender at the start of the process. He emerged on the convention floor as a broadly acceptable second choice after various factions deadlocked.

Conventions generally had delegates take a series of votes to winnow the field. At the Republican convention, for example, William Seward received by far the largest number of votes on the first ballot, with Abraham Lincoln finishing a rather distant second. Seward's problem, however, was that virtually all of the delegates who weren't for him were strongly against him on electability grounds — as governor of New York he had not only opposed slavery, but also signed laws advancing the rights of free black residents of the state, radical moves that much of the party thought went too far for the swing states of the Midwest.

Lincoln's result gave him enormous momentum. On the second ballot, he trailed Seward by just three votes. And at that point, it just took a little more cajoling for Lincoln to get over the top. Woodrow Wilson. The Progressive Era at the beginning of the 20th century saw a backlash against local party machines and their bosses dominating American politics. This backlash was especially pronounced in Western states, where reformers implemented ideas like legislating via ballot initiative at the polls.

Progressive reformers also invented the presidential primary. In , Oregon became the first to use a popular election to pick its delegates for national conventions, with the delegates pledged to support specific candidates. But these primaries lacked the efficacy and decisiveness of those we have today, in part because most states didn't have them and in part because the ultimate nomination decision was still made via a multi-ballot process at a national convention.

He crushed Taft in the primaries, carrying nine of the 12 states that held primaries, while Robert La Follette won two and Taft just one. But that still left 36 other states, which mostly sent pro-Taft delegates to the convention, securing him the nomination. As in the caucus, delegates voice support for a particular candidate or remain uncommitted. In some states a combination of the primary and caucus systems are used. The primary serves as a measure of public opinion but is not necessarily binding in choosing delegates.

Sometimes the Party does not recognize open primaries because members of other parties are permitted to vote. The Democratic Party always uses a proportional method for awarding delegates. The percentage of delegates each candidate is awarded or the number of undecided delegates is representative of the mood of the caucus-goers or the number of primary votes for the candidate. For example imagine a state with ten delegates and three candidates. The Republican Party, unlike the Democratic Party, allows each state to decide whether to use the winner-take-all method or the proportional method.

In the winner-take-all method the candidate whom the majority of caucus participants or voters support receives all the delegates for the state. It is essential to remember that this is a general guide and that the primary system differs significantly from state to state. The best way to find information about your state is to contact your state Board of Elections.

Michael Nelson, Ed. In primaries, party members vote in a state election for the candidate they want to represent them in the general election.

After the primaries and caucuses, each major party, Democrat and Republican, holds a national convention to select a Presidential nominee. The Presidential candidates campaign throughout the country to win the support of the general population. When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called electors. The number of electors each state gets is equal to its total number of Senators and Representatives in Congress.

A total of electors form the Electoral College. Each elector casts one vote following the general election. The candidate who gets votes or more wins. An election for president of the United States happens every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The most recent presidential election was November 3, The election process begins with primary elections and caucuses.

These are two methods that states use to select a potential presidential nominee Nominee: the final candidate chosen by a party to represent them in an election. In general, primaries use secret ballots for voting.

Caucuses are local gatherings of voters who vote at the end of the meeting for a particular candidate. Then it moves to nominating conventions , during which political parties each select a nominee to unite behind.

During a political party convention, each presidential nominee also announces a vice presidential running mate. The candidates then campaign across the country to explain their views and plans to voters. They may also participate in debates with candidates from other parties. During the general election General Election: a final election for a political office with a limited list of candidates.

But the tally of those votes—the popular vote—does not determine the winner. Instead, presidential elections use the Electoral College. To win the election, a candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes. In the event no candidate receives a majority, the House of Representatives chooses the president and the Senate chooses the vice president.

Summer of the year before an election through spring of the election year — Primary and caucus Caucus: a statewide meeting held by members of a political party to choose a presidential candidate to support.

Click here to follow election results! A primary election is an election used either to narrow the field of candidates for a given elective office or to determine the nominees for political parties in advance of a general election. Primary elections can take several different forms. In a partisan primary, voters select a candidate to be a political party's nominee for a given office in the corresponding general election.

Nonpartisan primaries are used to narrow the field of candidates for nonpartisan offices in advance of a general election. The terms of participation e. The methods employed to determine the outcome of the primary e. See the sections below for general information on the use of primary elections in the United States:. In general, there are two broad criteria by which primary elections can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction:.

The terms of participation in primary elections vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and, sometimes, within a jurisdiction; different political parties may enforce different participation criteria. In general, there are three basic primary election participation models used in the United States:. Note : Louisiana does not conduct true primary elections. Instead, all candidates running for a local, state, or federal office appear on the same ballot in either October in odd-numbered years or November in even-numbered years , regardless of their partisan affiliations.

If a candidate wins a simple majority of all votes cast for the office i. If no candidate meets that threshold, the top two finishers, regardless of their partisan affiliations, advance to a second election in December.

In that election, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes wins. Ballotpedia refers to Louisiana's electoral system as the Louisiana majority-vote system. Because it is possible for a candidate to win election in the first round of voting, Louisiana is not categorized by the primary election types listed below. In 21 states, at least one political party conducts open primaries for congressional and state-level offices. The map below identifies states in which at least one political party utilizes open primaries for congressional and state-level elections.

Hover over a state for additional details. In 14 states and the District of Columbia, at least one political party conducts closed primaries for congressional and state-level offices. The map below identifies states in which at least one political party utilizes closed primaries for congressional and state-level elections.

In 15 states, at least one political party conducts semi-closed primaries for congressional and state-level offices. The map below identifies states in which at least one political party utilizes semi-closed primaries for congressional and state-level elections.

In , Washington became the first state to adopt a top-two primary system for congressional and state-level elections. California followed suit in In Nebraska , a top-two primary system is utilized for state legislative elections.

Because Nebraska's state legislature is nonpartisan, partisan affiliation labels are not listed alongside the names of state legislative candidates. In , Alaska voters approved a ballot initiative establishing a top-four primary for state executive, state legislative, and congressional elections. The initiative also established ranked-choice voting for general elections for the aforementioned offices and the presidency.

The map below identifies states that utilize top-two primary elections. In 40 of the 50 states, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes in a primary election is considered the winner, even if he or she does not win more than 50 percent of votes cast. In 10 states identified in the map and table below , a candidate must win a majority of votes cast that is, more than 50 percent in order to win a primary.