Am I eligible to vote in a runoff?

Date Posted: 4/07/2016 | Author: Monty Exter
Are you eligible to vote in one of the upcoming primary election runoffs? The answer is actually quite simple. If you have not affiliated with an opposing party during the current election cycle, then YES, you can vote in the runoff.
Let's use Senate District (SD) 1 as an example to look at whether five hypothetical voters (Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Rowlf, and Piggy) could vote in the upcoming May 24 Republican primary runoff for that district.
- Kermit: Voted in the SD 1 Republican primary election on March 1, thereby affiliating himself with the Republican party. Kermit voted for David Simpson (R), who is now one of the two candidates in the May 24 runoff for SD 1. Kermit IS ELIGIBLE to vote in the May 24th Republican runoff.
- Fozzie: Voted early for Red Brown (R) in the Republican primary earlier this year. Brown is not one of the candidates who made it to the SD 1 runoff slated for May 24. However, Fozzie affiliated with Republican party by voting in that party's primary election. Therefore, Fozzie IS ELIGIBLE to vote in the May 24 Republican primary runoff.
- Gonzo: Voted for Bernie Sanders for President in the Democratic primary on March 1. Gonzo affiliated with an opposing party by voting in the Democratic primary. Therefore, Gonzo IS NOT ELIGIBLE to vote in the May 24th Republican primary runoff. Note: Gonzo would be eligible to vote in a Democratic runoff if one existed for SD 1, but all of the candidates in this particular race are Republicans, so Gonzo cannot vote in this race in May.
- Rowlf: Did not vote at all during the primaries. As a non-voter (and slacker!), Rowlf did not affiliate with any party. Because Rowlf did not affiliate with an opposing party, Rowlf IS ELIGIBLE to vote in the May 24 Republican primary runoff. Note: Rowlf would be eligible under this hypothetical scenario to vote in either a Republican or Democratic runoff, but only the Republican party has fielded candidates in this actual race.
- Piggy: Did not vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary election, but she did attend her local Libertarian Party's precinct convention on March 1. By attending the precinct convention of a third party, and ostensibly taking an oath of affiliation and/or getting her voter registration card stamped, Piggy has affiliated with an opposing party. Therefore, Piggy IS NOT ELIGIBLE to vote in the May 24 Republican primary runoff.

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