On June 2, 1998, California voters participated in California's first Open Primary Election. Approved by the voters in 1996, the open primary is open to all registered voters, even those registered as Independent. When you go to the polls this March, your ballot will list the names of all candidates running for all offices from every political party. You can vote for any candidate you wish, but you can only vote for one candidate in each race. The open primary applies to all candidates for partisan office, including Governor and other statewide offices, State Senate and Assembly, and US Senate and House of Representatives. The only exception is the County Central Committee--only voters registered in a particular political party can vote in that party's Central Committee election. The candidates who receive the most votes in each party race will compete against each other in the November General Election. The Presidential Primary and Political Parties To ensure your vote counts towards the actual selection of delegates to a party's presidential nominating convention, you must be registered with that party. To change party affiliations you must re-register. The last day to register to vote on March 7 was February 7th. You can vote for your favorite candidate regardless of your party affiliation or lack thereof and regardless of the candidate's party affiliation. And the final results statewide will be tallied and announced by the Secretary of State. However, that does not mean that the top vote-drawing candidates from each party will automatically become California's choices for presidential nominees. This tally is being termed a "beauty contest," because it shows how popular each candidate is. Two more counts will take place and these are the counts that will actually be used by the political parties. For these other counts, the votes will also be tabulated by the number each candidate receives from voters within each of the political parties and from nonaffiliated voters. How will this be done? Voters will be issued ballots that are visibly color-coded or labeled according to the party affiliation of the voter. These ballots will also be computer-coded for tallying purposes at the Secretary of State's office. From this tabulation, only the votes received by a candidate from members of his or her own party will count in the selection of the presidential nominee for that party. For the Green, Libertarian, Natural Law, and Republican parties, the selection of California delegates to the party nominating convention is a "winner-take-all" decision based on that second count. The selection of delegates from California to the Democratic Party nominating convention is not a winner-take-all contest. Therefore, a third tally will be prepared and available only at the Secretary of State's office. It will indicate the number of delegates won by each of the Democratic candidates in each of the congressional districts and the total number of delegates each of the candidates received statewide. For the American Independent Party, the March 7 primary is truly a "beauty contest." Since this party has already held its national nominating convention, their only candidate is already the party's nominee. The Reform Party is not going to use the results of this primary election in choosing their nominee, opting for other methods entirely. Be sure that you receive the correct specially-marked presidential ballot that matches your party registration. See also Voting Questions & Answers.
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