John Pitman writes

-----Original Message-----
From: John Pitman [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 6:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: OT: Presidental Return


Can you clear up something for me please - exactly who runs these
'primaries' ?? Since it is the party choosing its presidential
candidate,
seems it should be a party internal thing. Also , what does 'registered'
mean, as in voters? Registered with whom? Down here, we only register
with
the one Electoral office, as eligible to vote in a given
district/ward/whatever geographic area, and it has nothing to do with
parties.

jp??
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Primaries are not just for choosing presidential candidates.  Primaries
enable all political parties to choose their candidate for every
partisan elected office via election.  Whether president, senator,
representative, governor and other statewide office, or local political
office (mayor, city council).  All elections are held and administrated
by state governments.  This means each state decides when to hold
elections.  New Hampshire held its presidential primary election on
1/27, while California's will be 3/2, and the last presidential primary
will be on 6/8 for Montana and New Jersey.  Most states combine the
presidential primary with primaries for other partisan offices and for
non-partisan offices and ballot measures (initiatives, referendum, bond
measures, etc).  Some have more than one primary election, president
early, other offices later.  This allows them to have an earlier say in
the choosing of a party's nominee.  Except for president, the winners of
each party's primary election face each other in a general election for
that office along with chosen members from each party for president and
also with non-partisan offices and ballot measures as appropriate.

See: http://www.fec.gov/pages/2004pdates.htm

Potential voters register (fill out an application affirming under oath
that they are legally able to vote) with their local registrar of
voters.  At the time of registration, the potential voter designates
which party they want to be part of and then can vote for that party's
candidates in a primary election.  Voters can also decline to state a
political party and therefore not be allowed to vote to choose a
candidate for any political party in a primary election.

The local registars job is to run the elections, usually within a county
and report all vote tabulations to the state's elections division,
usually the state's secretary of state.  Only registered people can
vote, though some states allow for instant registration at polling
places.

Voting is completely voluntary.  Indeed deliberately not voting for
anyone for an office or voting at all could be considered making a
statement about how you feel about a race or an election in general.

Mike Berkowitz
Guess? Inc.

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