Unaffiliated Voters and Crossover Voting in Semi-Closed Primaries: The Case of Rhode Island

15 May 2023, Version 1
This content is an early or alternative research output and has not been peer-reviewed at the time of posting.

Abstract

A significant number of voters in Rhode Island engage in the costly practice of changing party registration after voting in primaries in order to maintain unaffiliated registration. I theorize that the semi-closed election laws of the state motivate this behavior by allowing unaffiliated voters to choose either the Democratic or Republican primary and engage in crossover voting. Voters who switch party registration post-primary routinely engage in crossover voting. In the state, these voters reside in municipalities where access to both party primaries is valuable.

Keywords

party registration
primary elections

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