Choosing a Ballot for the June 28 Primary?

5/6/2022

In Illinois primary elections, voters must declare a party affiliation in order to receive a ballot. This is because Illinois primary elections are considered partisan primary elections—voters vote a ballot listing only candidates from one party or the other.

However, Illinois voters do not need to be a registered member of either party. In Illinois, voters simply choose which ballot they would like to vote by declaring a party for that particular primary. Two years later, in the next primary, they can crossover and choose to vote the ballot of the opposite party. This is often referred to as a partially open primary. Illinois is one of 15 states with partially open primaries.

Open primaries are held in another 15 states. In these primaries, voters are allowed to choose a party ballot in private, without publicly disclosing a party affiliation. In Illinois, a voter may request a nonpartisan ballot to vote on referenda only.

In the nine states with closed primaries, only voters registered with a political party can vote, and only on a ballot for the party to which they are registered. There are also six states with partially closed primaries, where unaffiliated voters may receive either party’s ballot, but voters registered to a party cannot cross party lines and request the other party’s ballot.

Read more from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

NOTE: In the general election on the first Tuesday in November, Illinois voters receive only one ballot, listing candidates from all parties.