Understanding primaries and what you must do NOW!

Primary elections are part of the process of nominating a party candidate to run in the Presidential election. Obviously, our interest is in the Republican candidacy, so this article will focus on that party's process.

If we are to secure the party nomination, it is vital that each and every one of us proud Spambots can and does vote in the 2008 Republican primary. In some states, you may vote for either candidate regardless of the party you selected when you registered to vote - these are called "open primaries".

In other states, you may only vote in your party's primary - these are called "closed primaries". This is important! If you are registered Democrat or Green Party or anything but Republican in these states you will not be able to help nominate Dr. Paul for President! We need every single vote we can get. If you are in a closed primary state, you must register Republican now.

Please check the following table to determine the primary type in your state. If you must change your voter registration, be aware that it must be done a certain number of days before the election. In California, that is 15 days but I strongly suggest you do not wait until the last possible day. I'll be back later with a list of individual state deadlines.

- Spambot #4750

State	Closed	Open	Other	Remarks
Alabama		x
Alaska			x	Blanket primary for four of five registered parties. Republicans use closed primary.
Arizona	x
Arkansas		x		Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party.
California	x
Colorado	x
Connecticut	x
Delaware	x
District of Columbia	x
Florida	x
Georgia		x		Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party.
Hawaii		x
Idaho		x
Illinois			x	Must vote in primary of same party as last primary vote. Loosely enforced.
Indiana		x
Iowa			x	Voter may change registration at polls.
Kansas	x
Kentucky	x
Louisiana			x	"Effectively open. Top-two runoff system (\""cajun primary\"") used. Closed primary used for Congressional races after 2006."
Maine	x
Maryland	x
Massachusetts	x
Michigan		x
Minnesota		x
Mississippi		x
Missouri		x
Montana		x
Nebraska	x
Nevada	x
New Hampshire	x
New Jersey	x
New Mexico	x
New York	x
North Carolina	x
North Dakota		x
Ohio			x	Must vote in primary of same party as last primary vote. Loosely enforced.
Oklahoma	x
Oregon	x
Pennsylvania	x
Rhode Island	x
South Carolina		x		Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party.
South Dakota	x
Tennessee		x
Texas		x		Voter must vote in runoff primary of same party.
Utah	x			Currently only Republicans close primary.
Vermont		x
Virginia		x
Washington		x
West Virginia	x			Currently only Democrats close primary.
Wisconsin		x
Wyoming	x