Party-nominated offices are contests in which the nominee is selected by the political party.
Party‐Nominated Contests:
- U.S. President
- County Central Committees.
During a Presidential Primary Election, only registered voters in that political party can vote for that party’s candidate on the ballot. This is known as a Closed Presidential Primary.
The exception to that rule: When candidates for the President are on the Primary Election Ballot, some–but not all–political parties choose to allow No Party Preference (NPP) voters to participate in their primary without having to re-register. This is known as a “crossover” or a Modified-Closed Presidential Primary. If you are not registered with one of the certified political parties, the state election laws consider you to be a NPP voter and you will be given the option to crossover.
Certified political parties in California:
- American Independent Party (AI)
- Democratic Party (DEM)
- Green Party (GRN)
- Libertarian Party (LIB)
- Peace & Freedom Party (PF)
- Republican Party (REP)
If a qualified political party chooses to hold a Modified-Closed Presidential Primary, the party must notify the California Secretary of State no later than the 135th day before Election Day. Counties will then notify voters as to which parties allow crossovers as the presidential primary election draws near.
If you are a NPP voter, you have 3 choices for how to participate in the primary:
- Request a crossover. This is only allowed for the parties that authorize it.
- Re-register. Do this if you want to participate in the party’s primary but do not have the option to crossover.
- Do nothing. You will be provided a ballot with no presidential candidates on it, but every other contest will be available to you to vote on.
No matter how you decide to participate in the presidential primary, everyone will be able to vote for President and Vice-President in the November General Election.