How to change political parties?

[mommyof4]

OK, folks, I need some help. After much thought and soul searching, I am changing my political party. My question: how do I do this? I looked at my county web site, and I can find a form that I can download and fill in to register to vote, but I can’t seem to find anything that just allows me to change party affiliation. Any hints?

Also, do you think that I should write a letter to the party that I am leaving to let them know why they are loosing a registered voter after 20-plus years? If so, whom do I send it to?

Thanks,
Mary

 

[rlg94086]

OK, folks, I need some help. After much thought and soul searching, I am changing my political party. My question: how do I do this? I looked at my county web site, and I can find a form that I can download and fill in to register to vote, but I can’t seem to find anything that just allows me to change party affiliation. Any hints?

Also, do you think that I should write a letter to the party that I am leaving to let them know why they are loosing a registered voter after 20-plus years? If so, whom do I send it to?

Thanks,
Mary

Hi Mary,

I believe that all you need to do is fill in the registration form with your new party affiliation. To be sure, you can always contact the local party HQ for the party you are switching to…they will be glad to help.

As far as who to send a letter to - I would send a copy to the local party HQ and the national party HQ. You should be able to find them with some Googlin’.

 

[meh56]

I use to be a democrat, then a republican, now i am an independent. The republican always play the pro-life card, but they never do anything about it. they are for big business only. the democarts are nuts

 

[mommyof4]

I use to be a democrat, then a republican, now i am an independent. The republican always play the pro-life card, but they never do anything about it. they are for big business only. the democarts are nuts

We can’t discuss the merits or problems of either party- it’s against forum rules. I just need to know HOW to change my party affiliation.

 

[vern_humphrey]

OK, folks, I need some help. After much thought and soul searching, I am changing my political party. My question: how do I do this? I looked at my county web site, and I can find a form that I can download and fill in to register to vote, but I can’t seem to find anything that just allows me to change party affiliation. Any hints?

Also, do you think that I should write a letter to the party that I am leaving to let them know why they are loosing a registered voter after 20-plus years? If so, whom do I send it to?

Thanks,
Mary

It depends on the state. In some states you register by party, in some states it’s optional. In others there is no official party affiliation noted on the registration form.

If your state does register by party, you could register as an Independent. Be careful, though – in one state (Illinois) the powers that be decided that all Independents are “American Independents” – members of George Wallace’s defunct third party. So unless you registered as an “Independent, refused to declare” you would not be allowed to vote in any primary.

 

[Miriam1947]

It depends on the state. In some states you register by party, in some states it’s optional. In others there is no official party affiliation noted on the registration form.

If your state does register by party, you could register as an Independent. Be careful, though – in one state (Illinois) the powers that be decided that all Independents are “American Independents” – members of George Wallace’s defunct third party. So unless you registered as an “Independent, refused to declare” you would not be allowed to vote in any primary.

California is the same as Illinois. My brother registered as an independent and didn’t realize it is a party here. He couldn’t vote in the primary for a party because of that. He has since re-registered.
You can register as a non-partisan, declines to state.
Then in a primary the parties determine whether you can vote in their primary. In the primary this year in California, the democrats allowed non-partisans to vote but the republicans didn’t. Since it was a party primary they are allowed to do that.

 

[Dale_M]

In Iowa we have open primaries. You declare your party affiliation when you vote in the primary (or caucus) and can even change it immediately after voting (although unless your new official affiliation is “Independent”, it might raise some eyebrows.)

 

[Ridgerunner]

In Iowa we have open primaries. You declare your party affiliation when you vote in the primary (or caucus) and can even change it immediately after voting (although unless your new official affiliation is “Independent”, it might raise some eyebrows.)

In Missouri, we just pick up whatever ballot we want when we vote in primaries. There is no such thing as “Registering” as a Democrat or a Republican, though there are Democrat organizations and Republican organizations to which one can belong.

 

[rlg94086]

hmm…well, mommyof4, I guess we need to know a little more about your location than "On the edge of “The Great Beyond.” …is that North Dakota?

 

[mary_bobo]

We can’t discuss the merits or problems of either party- it’s against forum rules. I just need to know HOW to change my party affiliation.

My guess would be at the place where one applies for voting privileges. Maybe the local county clerki’s office could help.

 

[mommyof4]

In Iowa we have open primaries. You declare your party affiliation when you vote in the primary (or caucus) and can even change it immediately after voting (although unless your new official affiliation is “Independent”, it might raise some eyebrows.)

hmm…well, mommyof4, I guess we need to know a little more about your location than "On the edge of “The Great Beyond.” …is that North Dakota?

Iowa.

 

[rlg94086]

Iowa.

Great! Then, in addition to Dale M’s comments, here’s what I found online:
johnson-county.com/auditor/voter/parties.htm

What are the political parties in Iowa?
To qualify for official party status, a party must win more than 2% or the vote for President or governor in each general election. Iowa currently has two official political parties: Democratic and Republican.
Parties that do not meet the legal requirements are formally known as *non-party political organizations. *Beginning January 1, 2008, voters may register with two non-party organizations that have completed a petition process, the Green Party and the Libertarian Party.
…
Do I have to choose a party in order to register and to vote?
No. If you do not wish to belong to a political party or non-party organization, you may leave the party boxes blank when you register or check the box marked “No Party.” However, only voters who register with a fully qualified party may vote in a partisan [primary election.](http://www.johnson-county.com/auditor/voter/parties.htm#What’s a primary election?) (June, even numbered years).
I thought I was registered with one party but my card says I’m registered with another one.
You may have voted in a primary election or attended a caucus and changed your party affiliation at that time. If you wish to make any changes or corrections, you can use the back of your voter card.
How do I declare or change a party affiliation on my voter registration record?
Just check the box for the party or non-party organization of your choice on the registration form. There are no other requirements. If you leave the space blank or mark “No Party,” you will be registered with no party.
Why can’t I register as an Independent? Why does it say “NON” on my voter card?
The abbreviation “NON” stands for No Party, which means that you are registered without any party affiliation. The term “No Party” is specified by the Secretary of State and used consistently statewide.

 

[puzzleannie]

depends on your state, usually when you vote in the primary you ask for the ballot of the party you want, and that “officially” puts your party affiliation in the record. you also have an option to get an issues-only ballot to avoid recording a preference, but as I say it depends on your state.

you don’t have to state your party affiliation to vote on issues, or to vote in a general election, just vote for whom you choose, splitting the ticket if that is your preference. nothing about the act of voting will indicate who voted for whom, just the totals. You only need to state a preference when voting in a primary, or in a party election or to attend a party convention if your state has these

 

[chicago]

It depends on the state. In some states you register by party, in some states it’s optional. In others there is no official party affiliation noted on the registration form.

If your state does register by party, you could register as an Independent. Be careful, though – in one state (Illinois) the powers that be decided that all Independents are “American Independents” – members of George Wallace’s defunct third party. So unless you registered as an “Independent, refused to declare” you would not be allowed to vote in any primary.

Under Illinois election law, one does not register by party. Essentially, EVERYONE is inherently an independent.

However, one may “affiliate” with a party. Really, this only comes into play if you are signing petitions or working as an election judge or running for election, however. Technically, should one choose to pull a ballot for one party’s primary, then you have chosen to “affiliate” with them for a period of, I think, two years. Of course, that doesn’t prevent you from voting for any candidate not of that party at general election. And since most elections are on at least a two year cycle, it means that you can freely “affiliate” with another party at the next election, if you so choose.

What you would NOT do is go to a primary and declare “independent”, for example, at which point you would be handed a ballot for the “Independent Party” (with, probably no real election races in play, anyway), if there was one. You declare for the party primary which you wish to vote in. Sometimes there is a certain degree of crossover here, where people who consider themselves to be a member of one party but want to vote for a candidate in another party and influence their election will declare for that party at primary.

Oh, I do believe that one can vote in a primary for one party and also sign a petition for a “new party” forming that year, though.

The simple answer to the OPs question, then, is that is it essentially a state and local matter. It differs from place to place and there is not likely a clear answer which you could find here. Contact your State and County Board of Elections and ask how it is done where you are. They’ll have the answer. It is even quite possible that you don’t have to do anything at all but just to start voting the other way on Election Day.

 

[chicago]

So in reading the post above about Iowa election law, it sounds like you simply need to re-register as a voter through the County Elections board, checking off the box for the party of your choice. That assumes that it is your desire to vote in that party’s primary elections. If you aren’t voting at primary, then you probably don’t have to do anything.

 

[MichaelMurphy]

OK, folks, I need some help. After much thought and soul searching, I am changing my political party. My question: how do I do this? I looked at my county web site, and I can find a form that I can download and fill in to register to vote, but I can’t seem to find anything that just allows me to change party affiliation. Any hints?

Also, do you think that I should write a letter to the party that I am leaving to let them know why they are loosing a registered voter after 20-plus years? If so, whom do I send it to?

Thanks,
Mary

Before you follow through, consider this quote from ‘Tragedy & Hope’ written by Carroll Quigley.
On page 1247, regarding the two-party, Left vs. Right system (or
what we call “democracy”), Quigley stated…
“The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers… Instead, the parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can ‘throw the rascals out’ at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy.”

 

[MichaelMurphy]

BTW Prof. Carroll Quigley was a Catholic. Died soon after publishing ‘Tragedy and Hope’ and writing ‘The Anglo-American Establishment’. Just like JFK and Abraham Lincoln were murdered just as they they were going to do something with the Federal Reserve that would correct the US monetary system. Better not say anymore.
Coincidence Theories abound.

 

[mommyof4]

It’s a done deal- I’ve officially switched. Thank you to all who gave advice.