[SoCal Midwest Noobie]

I have a question about the voting process here in Michigan. I received my voters card in the mail today but I realized that you don't declare your political party in this state. So what happens now? How does the primary system work? I just missed the recent vote I know.

[mjlo]

You can declare party, you may have filled it out wrong. My voter Id for Michigan shows registered Libertarian.

[magellan]

No, you don't have to declare a party.

SOS - Does a political party preference have to be declared when registering to vote?

Any registered voter can vote at any primary for any candidate.

[jackmichigan]

Originally Posted by mjlo

You can declare party, you may have filled it out wrong. My voter Id for Michigan shows registered Libertarian.

Really? My voter registration card shows nothing about party affiliation, as it should be. Do you have an old card? I don't even recall being offered the option of declaring a party. (Maybe to improve our politics, we should simply do away with party affiliations when it comes to people running for office. Heck, there's nothing in the Constitution about political parties. Having political parties seems to be doing far more harm than good!)

[mjlo]

I may have an old card, It's probably about 5 years old.

[Cliffie]

Every time I re-register they ask whether I want to declare a party affiliation. I like to change it periodically to keep them on their toes.

[teachbeach]

No, you don't have to declare, when you go to vote in a primary, they'll remind you that you can only vote for one party, otherwise your ballot will negate itself. You don't even have to ask for the A or B ballot, it's all on one, you just pick the party or people in the party you want to support. You do have to stay in the same affiliation on that ballot.

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by jackmichigan

Really? My voter registration card shows nothing about party affiliation, as it should be. Do you have an old card? I don't even recall being offered the option of declaring a party. (Maybe to improve our politics, we should simply do away with party affiliations when it comes to people running for office. Heck, there's nothing in the Constitution about political parties. Having political parties seems to be doing far more harm than good!)

Yea, we should try it (again). Since parties are newer on the scene, one wonders how it would be if we voted on individuals for each slot in government with no mention of their "affiliation". Still, they could probably have factions in secret. The idea seems so radical that it's hard to imagine. Americans would also have to start doing their homework on hundreds of candidates.
But right now it seems to me a bigger problem is government-for-sale.

[snoopygirlmi]

Nobody is required to declare a party.

In all the times I've been to the Secretary of State's office, I've only been asked once if I wanted to declare a party.

Primaries in Michigan are open. However, you can only vote in one party's primary. You can't cross-over (vote for candidates in both parties).

[animatedmartian]

I think when I went to go vote, it gave you the option of voting for one party rather than filling in for every single candidate. But I don't think you necessarily had to declare which party you associate with.