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A primary election is an election used either to narrow the field of candidates for a given elective role or to determine the nominees for political parties in advance of a general ballot. Main elections can take several different forms. In a partisan primary, voters select a candidate to be a political party's nominee for a given office in the corresponding general election. Nonpartisan primaries are used to narrow the field of candidates for nonpartisan offices in advance of a general election. The terms of participation (due east.g., whether only registered party members tin can vote in a party'south main) in primary elections can vary by jurisdiction, political party, and the function or offices upwardly for election. The methods employed to make up one's mind the outcome of the primary (e.m., plurality systems, majority systems, top-two systems, etc.) can also vary past jurisdiction.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Texas primaries are open, pregnant a voter does not accept to exist registered as a member of a party to participate in its primary. Voters in Texas must sign a pledge when voting declaring that they will not vote in another political party'south principal in the aforementioned year.

  • Winners in main elections in Texas are determined by majority vote. In the case that no candidate receives more than than the fifty percent of votes cast, the height two candidates proceed to a runoff election.

    • See the sections beneath for general data on the use of primary elections in the United States and specific information on the types of primaries held in Texas:

    1. Background: This section outlines the unlike types of primary election participation models used in the United States, including open primaries, closed primaries, semi-closed primaries, and top-two primaries. This department besides details the diverse methods employed to make up one's mind the outcomes of primary elections.
    2. Primary election systems used in Texas: This section details the chief ballot systems employed in Texas, including primaries for congressional and state-level offices (e.m., country legislative seats, country executive offices, etc).
    3. State legislation: This sections lists state legislation relevant to primary election policy in Texas.

    Background

    In full general, at that place are 2 broad criteria past which chief elections can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction:

    1. Terms of participation: In jurisdictions that conduct partisan primaries, who tin vote in a party's primary? Is participation limited to registered political party members, or tin can other eligible voters (such as unaffiliated voters or voters belonging to other parties) participate? In general, there are three basic types of master ballot participation models: open primaries, airtight primaries, and semi-closed primaries.
    2. Methods for determining the election'southward issue: What share of the total votes cast does a candidate have to receive in order to advance to the general ballot? Methods for determining primary election outcomes include plurality voting systems, majority voting systems, and height-two primaries.

    For more than complete information on these criteria, click "[Show more]" below.

    Show more

    Terms of participation

    The terms of participation in chief elections vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction (and, sometimes, within a jurisdiction; different political parties may enforce dissimilar participation criteria). In general, in that location are three basic primary ballot participation models used in the United States:

    1. Open up primaries: An open chief is any master ballot in which a voter either does not have to formally affiliate with a political political party in gild to vote in its main or can declare his or her amalgamation with a party at the polls on the day of the master even if the voter was previously affiliated with a dissimilar party.[i] [2]
    2. Airtight primaries: A closed primary is whatsoever primary ballot in which a voter must affiliate formally with a political party in advance in order to participate in that party's principal.[1] [2]
    3. Semi-closed primaries: A semi-closed primary is one in which previously unaffiliated voters tin participate in the main of their choosing. Voters who previously affiliated with a political party who did not change their affiliations in advance cannot vote in another political party's principal.[1] [2]

    Methods for determining the election's outcome

    Methods for tallying votes to determine a principal ballot's outcome include the following:

    1. Plurality voting organisation: In plurality systems, the candidate who wins the largest share of the vote wins the ballot. The candidate demand non win an outright majority to exist elected. These systems are sometimes referred to every bit kickoff-past-the-mail or winner-have-all.[3] [4]
    2. Majority voting system: In majority systems, a candidate must win more than l percent of the vote in lodge to win the ballot. In the event that no candidate wins an outright majority, a runoff election is held between the elevation two vote-getters. For this reason, majority systems are sometimes referred to as 2-round systems. Ranked-choice voting is a specific type of majority voting arrangement that may besides be used in primary elections.[three] [4]
    3. Top-two primaries: A top-two primary is one in which all candidates are listed on the aforementioned primary election ballot; the pinnacle 2 vote-getters, regardless of their partisan affiliations, advance to the general election. Consequently, it is possible that ii candidates belonging to the aforementioned political party could win in a elevation-ii primary and face off in the general election. A top-ii master should not exist confused with a coating primary. In a blanket primary, all candidates are listed on the aforementioned primary ballot; the top vote-getter from each party participating in the primary advances to the general election.[2] [five] [half dozen]

    Main election systems used in Texas

    Congressional and land-level elections

    In 22 states, at to the lowest degree one political party utilizes open primaries to nominate partisan candidates for congressional and state-level (due east.1000. country legislators, governors, etc.) offices. In 15 states, at least i party utilizes closed primaries to nominate partisan candidates for these offices. In 14 states, at least ane party utilizes semi-closed primaries. In ii (California and Washington), peak-ii primaries are utilized.[7]

    Texas police requires parties to deport open primary elections for country and canton offices, every bit well every bit for congressional offices. Winners in master contests are determined by bulk vote. In the case that no candidate receives a bulk vote, the elevation two candidates proceed to a runoff election.[i] [2] [8]

    The tabular array below lists Texas offices for which parties must conduct primary elections to nominate their candidates.

    Constituent offices for which parties must deport primaries to nominate full general ballot candidates
    Office Number of seats
    Governor of Texas 1
    Lieutenant Governor of Texas one
    Chaser General of Texas i
    Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts 1
    Texas Land Commissioner 1
    Texas Agriculture Commissioner ane
    Texas Railroad Commission 3
    State legislators 181
    U.s.a. Senators 2
    The states Representatives 36
    Local officials Varies by municipality

    State legislation and ballot measures

    Chief systems legislation

    The following is a list of recent main ballot systems bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Texas state legislature. To acquire more than about each of these bills, click the bill championship. This information is provided past BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

    Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this listing, some results may non be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

    Primary systems ballot measures

    See as well: Elections and campaigns on the ballot and List of Texas ballot measures

    Since 2017, Ballotpedia has tracked no ballot measures relating to primary elections in Texas.

    See as well

    • Electoral systems in Texas
    • Voting in Texas
    • Principal election

    External links

    • National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types"
    • FairVote, "Primaries"

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 ane.1 1.2 ane.3 FairVote, "Who Can Vote in Congressional Primaries," accessed August 17, 2017
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.three 2.iv National Conference of State Legislatures, "Land Primary Election Types," July 21, 2016
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 FairVote, "Electoral Systems," accessed July vii, 2017
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Georgetown University, "Balloter Systems," accessed July 7, 2017
    5. ↑ Encyclopedia Brittanica, "Primary Election," accessed Jan xiii, 2016
    6. ↑ Louisiana utilizes a ii-round electoral system in which the names of all eligible candidates are printed on the general election ballot. If a candidate wins more than than l percent of the vote in the general election, he or she is elected. If no candidate wins an outright majority in the general election, a runoff election is held between the peak two vote-getters. This system is sometimes referred to as a jungle principal or majority electoral system. In Nebraska'south nonpartisan state legislature employs a superlative-two master organisation in which the top two vote-getters in the primary confront off in the general ballot.
    7. ↑ Texas Legislature, "Chapter 172. Primary Elections," accessed September 2, 2017

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