May 19th Primaries, Part 6: How Party Primaries Are Conducted?
May 19th Primaries, Part 6: How Are Party Primaries Conducted?
The primary election is part of the nominating process for each qualifying political party. In Alabama there are only two political party primaries, Republican and Democratic.
Our state’s primary elections are considered open partisan primaries with nonpartisan registration. That means there is no option to affiliate with a political party on the voter registration form. Voters are not required to formally affiliate/unaffiliated with a party to vote. Every voter can choose a ballot line-Republican or Democrat-to vote in the primary.
There was an effort in this past legislative session to switch to a “closed primary”. It passed the house after considerable, heated debate, with Democrats calling it another disenfranchisement effort by Republicans. But the senate did not vote on the bill that would have required party registration to vote in Alabama’s primary elections before adjourning for the year.
The state continues with an “Open Primary” where a voter may participate in any party's primary by declaring his or her preference for that party at the polls on the day of the primary election. A candidate must win a majority of the vote in order to be declared the winner of a primary election. If no candidate wins the requisite majority, a runoff election must be held between the top two vote-getters to determine the winner.
If a voter participates in a political party’s primary election, then that voter may not vote in another political party’s primary runoff election. Winners of each party’s primary or runoff are their party’s nominee in the November General Election.
There are also Constitutional Amendments, and in some counties there are referendums on the ballot. If you choose not to participate in nominating candidates for either political party, you can request a constitutional amendment ballot that contains only the proposed constitutional amendments.
According to the Alabama Elections Handbook, “The use of the State’s primary election processes does not restrict how a political party governs itself. A political party subject to the primary law may establish governing committees for the state and any political subdivision of the state, including counties, but general authority is vested in the state executive committee. The state committee, however, may delegate to county committees the power to regulate party affairs within their respective counties.
“A political party may use the State’s primary election process to choose its elective members,” as well.
The handbook is also comprised of some commonsense rules, such as: “It is important to note that a person may seek nomination for office in only one primary election. No person may simultaneously be a candidate for the same office on both the Democratic and Republican tickets.”
Special primary elections, such as the one declared by Gov. Ivey on August 11th, are also covered in the handbook.
“Special elections held to fill vacancies in state or federal legislative bodies or for state or county offices filled by election are held on a day specified by the Governor. The Governor also gives notice by proclamation of any special election for representatives in Congress or state officers.
“The Governor notifies the judges of probate of the counties in which the special election is to be held. The judges of probate are to give notice in their respective counties by proclamation of the time, place, and purpose of the election. The judge of probate must also notify the sheriff and the circuit clerk that a special election has been called
In Alabama the party primary ballots are printed at state expense in a form that is designated by the legislature. The expense of primary elections is paid by the state or county in the same manner as general elections.
The Alabama Secretary of State is the state’s ex officio "Chief State Elections Official" for all federal, state, special, and constitutional electoral contests. The Elections Division administers elections and campaign finance laws, including the preparation of ballots and implementation of state and federal election laws (such as the Help America Vote Act). The Secretary of State also possesses rulemaking authority for the implementation of election laws under the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act.
The county probate judge has a number of duties relating to federal, state, and county elections. The probate judge is an elected county official and is the chief election official in each county. They recruit and are in charge of training poll workers.
Each county has a board of registrars. These boards, typically housed at a county’s courthouse, register citizens to vote and maintain the voter database for the County.
Poll workers are paid election officials who staff local polling places to carry out assigned Election Day procedures. Their work begins before the election – as each worker is required to undergo training to carry out these tasks. There are approximately 1,980 polling places across the State of Alabama that require workers for each election.
In Alabama, eligible high school and college students are now able to work as unpaid poll worker interns on Election Day.
Elections are the lifeblood of democracy, and it takes thousands of paid and unpaid workers to put on primaries like Tuesday. Tell them thank you when you go to the polls to vote.
TOMORROW: May 19th Primaries, Part 7: Sample Ballots
More From Tuscaloosa Thread
