• Voting for candidates to represent a political partyvote america image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com
  
  A government election primary is the process by which each party in the political system elects candidates for party representatives. Once chosen in the primary, the elected representative moves on to represent his party in the general election. There are four types of primaries. Some are open to the general public and some are open only to registered members of a certain party. What makes the United States' primary process unique is that citizens of the country vote for the candidates whereas in other democratic nations, the individual parties pick the candidates.
  
  

Open Primaries

• An open primary is exactly what it implies. It is open to anyone in the general public. As long as you are a registered voter in the United States, you can vote for the candidate of your choice regardless of party affiliation. Voters are allowed to cross party lines and vote in either primary. Each party's candidates are on the ballot and the voter can choose to vote for a candidate from either. The candidate with the highest number of votes moves on to represent her party.
  
  

Semi-open

• A semi-open primary differs from an open primary by declaration and ballot. In an open primary, the voter need not declare any party affiliation because both party candidates are on the ballot. In a semi-open primary, the registered voter must appear at the designated polling location, declare party affiliation and receive the ballot containing the appropriate party's nominees.
  
  

Closed primaries

• A closed primary is reserved for voters within a certain party. This allows voters to vote only for the candidates on the ballot of their registered party affiliation. Closed primaries are thought to raise party unity by showing voter support for a chosen candidate. It also keeps out voters who have ulterior motives. By closing the vote to party affiliates only, there is less chance that opposing voters will vote for a weaker candidate that could be easily beaten in a general election. This practice is known as raiding.
  
  

A Runoff

• A runoff takes place when no one candidate within the parties receives a majority of the vote. A second vote takes place and the top two candidates receiving majority votes move on to the general election. No party affiliation is required to vote in a runoff, thereby making it a popular choice for independents and third parties.