Election Primary Process Explained
Part of an early 20th century movement to democratize the process of choosing candidates for public office, primary elections are the means by which the two major political parties in the United States select nominees for state and national office, including the presidency. Primary elections are held every two years, while national primaries to select each party's presidential nominee occur every four years in even-numbered years.
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History
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Throughout the 1800s, conventions and caucuses of political party leaders chose their respective party's nominees for office. By the early 20th century, primary elections had displaced conventions and caucuses in most states.
Identification
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The presidential primaries, held every four years, are the best-known primary elections in the U.S. The Democratic and Republican parties award each state a certain number of delegates based on the number of party voters in each state.
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Features
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Registered voters in primary elections cast ballots in the Democratic or Republican primary and vote for their favorite presidential candidate on that party's slate of candidates. Depending on the rules of each state and party, the winning candidate in each party's primary receives that state's delegates or a percentage of the delegates that is proportional to the percentage of votes won by the candidate. Presidential primaries also include candidates for Congress, as well as state and local offices.
Time Frame
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The first presidential primary occurs early in the presidential election year in New Hampshire. The so-called "Super Tuesday" primary day occurs in the early spring and involves primaries in multiple states, including large states such as California and Texas.
Significance
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The presidential candidate with the most delegates at the end of the primary elections is then officially nominated as his party's presidential nominee. The Democratic and Republican parties hold their national conventions in the summer of a presidential election year.
Effects
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The primary election process opened the party nomination process, but it had the effect of weakening the influence of party leaders because primary elections meant candidates had to appeal to registered voters instead of to political party leaders.
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