What is a “jungle primary” election?

A “jungle primary” election is a type of election held in Delaware which allows a voter to choose one candidate from a combined list of candidates of all political parties for a single office. This type of election has a number of benefits, including enabling the state to save money by avoiding a primary, and allowing more than one contender from the same party to compete against one another. In a jungle primary election, all candidates are listed together regardless of their political affiliations and all registered voters are allowed to vote. The two candidates that receive the most votes advance to an official general election, where the winning candidate is decided. This type of election has been used by some states to replace the traditional party-based primary elections, which can be costly to administer. Because all candidates from all political parties are listed together on the same ballot, this type of election is sometimes referred to as a “Top Two” or “Open Primary” election. This system ensures that voting results are fair and non-partisan, and allows Delaware to save money while continuing to hold effective elections. By holding this type of election, Delaware is able to skip the cost of hosting a primary election while still ensuring that voters have the right to elect a candidate of their choice.

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What is a “jungle primary” election?

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