What is the difference between a closed and open primary election?

An open primary election is when voters can vote in any party’s primary election regardless of their party affiliation. This means that a voter can choose to vote in the Democratic primary, the Republican primary, or any other party’s primary. In Washington, open primary elections are held for Congressional, legislative, and partisan county offices. On the other hand, a closed primary election is when only voters who are registered with a particular party can vote in that party’s primary election. This means that a voter must be a registered member of the Democratic party in order to vote in the Democratic primary election. In Washington, closed primary elections are held for presidential, gubernatorial, and some other statewide offices. In both types of primary elections, the candidates from different parties compete against each other to win their party’s nomination for a particular office. Later, the party’s nominee then faces all the other candidates from other parties in the general election. So overall, the difference between open and closed primary elections is simply the rules that determine who can vote in each type of primary election.

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What is the difference between a closed and open primary election?

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