All presidential candidates are not listed on every ballot for the June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election. In fact, some ballots will have no presidential candidates listed at all.
This may come as a surprise to the 25 percent of the County’s voters who are registered as No Party Preference or nonpartisan voters. If you are among them and you want to vote for president in the primary, you must ask for a different ballot or re-register with that political party depending on your candidate.
Every four years, political parties can say who will be allowed to vote for their party’s presidential candidates in the primary.
This year, the American Independent, Democratic, and Libertarian parties are allowing nonpartisan voters to take part in their primary elections. Nonpartisan voters can request one of those three parties’ ballots and vote for that party’s presidential candidate. Selecting one of these ballots will not register you with that party.
The Green, Peace and Freedom, and Republican parties are allowing only those registered with their parties to vote for their presidential candidates. Nonpartisan voters will not be able to select one of these ballots unless they re-register with the political party by May 23, 2016.
All voters should check their voter registration status to confirm current party preference. For those registered with a party, if your party preference is different from the presidential candidate you want to vote for, you will need to register to vote with that party prior to May 23, 2016.
No matter what your party preference is, all registered voters will be allowed to cast ballots for what are called voter-nominated offices, such as U.S. congressional offices and state legislative offices. The “top two” vote getters in these contests will advance to the November general election. The “top two” vote getters may both be registered with the same party or they may be registered with different parties.
All registered voters will be allowed to vote on their state, local or district ballot measures.
For more information, call (858) 565-5800 or visit sdvote.com.
