The Importance of Open vs. Closed Primaries

First Read: “One of the big secrets to Trump’s and Sanders’ success last night was the ‘open’ nature of last night’s primaries in Mississippi and Michigan. In Michigan, 31% of the voters were independents, and Trump bested Kasich among them, 36%-27%. And on the Democratic side in Michigan, Clinton won Democrats by a 57%-41% margin, but Sanders won among indies (who made up 28% of the electorate), 71%-28%.”

“Looking ahead to next week’s contests, Florida is a closed primary, while Ohio isn’t as open as Michigan is. Per Ohio’s election law, you declare your political party affiliation by requesting the ballot of a political party in a partisan primary election. If you do not desire to affiliate with a political party in Ohio, you are considered to be an unaffiliated voter. An unaffiliated voter does not vote the ballot of a political party in a primary election. However, an unaffiliated voter may vote the Official Questions & Issues Ballot, if there is one for the voter’s precinct at the election.”