This story is part of an election integrity series focusing on the people and processes that enable the fair casting and counting of ballots in each election. Its aim is to improve civic understanding in the lead-up to the 2024 general election.
While the federal government has stepped in at key moments, elections administration largely falls to states and the counties therein. As a result, there are significant differences in how individuals register to vote, their options for voting, and when localities can begin to count ballots submitted by mail.
Since 2018 in Washington, citizens who complete certain transactions with state agencies, such as getting an enhanced license, which involves submitting proof of U.S. citizenship, are automatically registered to vote. Washingtonians not already registered to vote can do so by mail or online until Oct. 28, with in-person registration available until Nov. 5.
Another state-to-state difference is how primary elections are conducted:
- Closed primaries — Voters must be registered with a specific political party and are along allowed to vote for candidates affiliated with that party.
- Partially closed — Political parties are able to decide whether to allow unaffiliated voters to participate in primary elections.
- Partially open — Voters can fill out the primary ballot of their choosing, but doing so registers them with the corresponding political party.
- Open to unaffiliated voters — Unaffiliated voters can vote in their chosen political primary, but those who are affiliated cannot vote on the other party’s ballot.
- Open primaries — Any voter can weigh in on a political party’s primary ballot without causing them to be registered to that party.
- Multi-party primaries — Rather than holding separate primaries for the major political parties, five states, including Washington, hold a single primary where all candidates for a given office are listed on a single ballot.
In Washington’s case, the multi-party primary, also known as a jungle primary, results in the two highest vote-receiving candidates facing off in the general election. That can mean two individuals from the same party can face off in November, something that isn’t possible under several of the other partisan primary ballot systems found across the country.
