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What does it mean to register in America? If you're registered as democrat, what does that mean?
Only registered Democrats can vote in a Democratic primary election, where the Democratic party selects its candidates for a general election.
Only registered Republicans can vote in a Republican primary election, where the Republican party selects its candidates for a general election.
Party registration plays no role in a General election: you can vote for anyone, even if they are not a member of your own party.
Voter registration (as opposed to party registration) is simply a declaration of your residency and thus eligibility to vote in elections at the state, county, city, congressional district, school district, ward, and possibly even lower level elections. (Three homeowners on my small, dead-end dirt road are the only ones eligible to "vote" on whether a special tax should be assessed against our properties to pave our road. )
Not all states are like that, a few have open primaries.
Can you register with both parties? Choose the best candidate for your party in your primary and the worst viable candidate for the other one?
In 34 out of 50 states if you do NOT register, you can vote for any candidate in the primaries.
But you can still only request a ballot with one primary: you cannot select the best candidate for your party and the worst for the other.
In those states, the request for a particular ballot is, effectively, registering as a member of that party.
The following is all regarding primaries:
California, Alaska, and Louisiana have Ranked choice voting, in a way.
Alaska you can vote for ranked choice for presidency. (Top 4)
Louisiana, you vote for anyone, the ballots are not separated, so whoever wins 50% supposedly goes on (Top 4)
California is Top 2.
Notable mentions: Nebraska and Washington both allow top 2 voting as well regardless of party officialiation, but NOT for the presidential election yet.
If someone sees part of this wrong, let me know so I can correct it, but last I knew that's how different some of our states are.
Nope. Primary elections are held simultaneously, and you are only allowed one ballot or the other. But it is a common practice to "sabotage" the other party rather than vote for your own.
That's so weird to me because it seems to me like is eliminates vote secrecy. I mean, not literally but it must be pretty rare that someone registered as X votes for Y.
I suppose this exists in my country to some extent. Only registered members of the party vote for internal elections. But my country is smaller, as are the parties, and there are more of them.
Agreed, especially since it is public information as to whether you cast a ballot in a particular election.
American elections are not actually elections, they are private decisions made by Party Committees and votes are just a suggestion by the “constituents”.
Each party privately selects their own candidate to run, independent of the voters’ will, and then the actual “government” election run by the government is where those privately selected agents get to duke it out in public.
As always, liberal accusations of “authoritarian” socialist states are just another confession. The DNC plays this game the same way the RNC does.
What other logical explanation is there for the lack of universal public healthcare, education, social safety net, Roe v Wade not being codified into law, PATRIOT act, Glass Steagall repeal, 2008 bank bailout, SLABS imploding the economy, illegitimate Supreme Court, RBG and Pelosi holding onto power until they are literal corpses, 6 million dead civilians in the Middle East, 200,000 dead Palestinians, women’s and LGBT rights being stripped away with literally zero federal pushback, committing state sponsored terrorism on Cuba for a century, the list goes on forever.
All done with wholehearted and enthusiastic DNC complicity.
the closest involvement you've had to politics is a parade, isn't it