What is the Primary Election?
What is the Primary Election?
The primary election is held for the members of political parties to nominate candidates for the general election. The President position is not on the Iowa Primary ballot. The primary is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June of even-numbered years.
What is Different About Primary Elections?
1. Party Affiliation Matters
The biggest difference between the primary election and all other elections is that a voter’s party affiliation matters and must be included on election registers, eligibility slips, absentee ballot requests, etc. Only voters who are registered with the Democratic, Libertarian or Republican parties (or people who declare their affiliation with a party when casting a ballot) are allowed to vote in primary elections. A voter must be a member of the party to participate in that party’s nomination process. Iowa has a “closed” primary which means that voters can vote in only one party’s primary election and only if they are willing to declare themselves as members of that party.
2. No One is Elected
Candidates are nominated at the primary election to run as a political party’s candidate in the general election.
3. Three Elections in One
At the primary, auditors are conducting one election for the Democratic Party, one election for the Libertarian Party and one election for the Republican Party. There are separate ballots, canvass materials, and certificates of write-in votes for each party.
Voters are allowed to change political party affiliation at the polls on Election Day. If a voter switches party affiliation to vote in the primary, their voter record will then reflect that change. If the voter would like to change back after the primary election, they may do so by filling out a new voter registration form or on the Iowa Secretary of State’s webpage at sos.iowa.gov, and click register to vote. If you prefer to fill out a paper form you may mail it to: Marion County Auditor, 214 E Main St, Knoxville IA 50138 or drop it by the office.
If you have any further questions please reach out to us via email at [email protected] or call us at 641-828-2217.
