Voting while unaffiliated?

[Malgoska]

Hello. I would like to find out how it works: if I am unaffiliated with any political party - do I still have the right to vote as unaffiliated? Or before I am allowed to vote, do I have to pick a party to associate with?

 

[NYClex]

Of course you can vote without being affiliated with a party.

The party affiliation registration only serves to make people eligible for primary voting. In most states, if you want to vote in the primaries, that are the elections that select a party's candidate, only the people affiliated with that party are allowed to vote.

But in the general election, the one that actually elects one of the candidates of all parties, every US citizen is allowed to vote if he satisfyies minimum age and criminal history requirements.

You do not need to state a party affiliation when you register for voting, you can always register as "unaffiliated."

 

[Malgoska]

Thank you -

- for making it clear for me.

 

[cbg]

In my state, you can even vote in the primary if you are unaffiliated with a party. You can only vote in one party's primary, but all you have to do, assuming you're registered to vote, is to present yourself at the polls and tell them which party primary you want to vote in. You may or may not have to re-register as unaffiliated after you vote; sometimes voting in the primary changes your registration to that of the party whose primary you voted in, but not always.

I can say this for certain, because I have been unaffiliated with a party for fifteen years and have voted in every election.

 

[mike]

I know that I voted unaffiliated in the recent election. My state couldn't even find me in my current district that I have lived in for 8 years!!!! Talk about messed up...