Yep - I'm a registered Republican. I always vote in the Democrat primaries.

Yes, you can because Virginia has open primaries. I’m a democrat (not registered) but voted for Kasich in 2016 because I was worried about Trump winning. I was fine with Clinton or Bernie. I’ll do the same again this year but for Haley.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read all comments above and I’m sickened. Hearing people switch “party” line to cast sabotage votes is saddening. If your party has let you down, then by all means, change and vote mind. Voting should be for who support, not for who you think you candidate can beat when the day comes. If that’s what you’re doing then you should stop to think about why the candidate you are trying to disadvantage is such a threat. Ask yourself what everyone else is on board with that you are overlooking in them. That’s non partisan advice by the way. It’s a two way street!

It’s a free country. People can vote any way they want to, thank heavens.

I’ve read all comments above and I’m sickened. Hearing people switch “party” line to cast sabotage votes is saddening. If your party has let you down, then by all means, change and vote mind. Voting should be for who support, not for who you think you candidate can beat when the day comes. If that’s what you’re doing then you should stop to think about why the candidate you are trying to disadvantage is such a threat. Ask yourself what everyone else is on board with that you are overlooking in them. That’s non partisan advice by the way. It’s a two way street!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can. I voted for McCain. You will be asked to sign a loyalty pledge.

Wrong. No loyalty pledge.

No party, no politician has the right to demand loyalty to them from any American. Republicans in particular should take note of that.

Elections.virginia.gov Answers this question.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is actually a question. I moved to VA decades ago and never needed to pick a party and could vote in any primary. And I’ve done so. Just this year, when affirming that wanted to vote by mail automatically (so Va mails me a ballot automatically), I for the first time saw that I had to choose R or D (or I I think). Not sure what the change is. Saving on postage?

I don’t think we are allowed to vote in both primaries. It’s not about registering with a party in VA but you have one primary vote.

True for a single election but for each election I pick the primary with the more interesting race. Not sure why the OP cares about the presidential race, with the volume of voting it's the least likely that one vote will make a difference. In this case Trump will likely win by a wide margin, so not really worth the time. If Biden declines to run the Democrat primary will be the one to watch.

Disagree. This kind of thinking delivered 2016. Please everyone vote! The primaries are critical in this election.

Anonymous wrote:My recent request for mail in ballot in VA required me to choose. That's the first time I recall ever having to check an R or D box in VA.

You can only vote in one primary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re in Virginia, you’re not registered with any particular party. The primaries are completely open.

Not sure if this is true since current governor.

Not sure who the governor is has any relevance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd like to vote for Nikki Haley in the Republican primary and (at least at this point) it doesn't seem there will be a meaningful Democrat primary. Can I just show up and ask for the Republican primary ballot in Virginia or do I need to switch my party affiliation to independent or republican to do that?

Serious question: don’t you think this qualifies as election interference? You have no intention of voting for Nikki Hailey in the general election, correct? You just want to make sure she’s the candidate to oppose Biden, who you presumably support?

Does that seem ……..ethical?………to you?

Why give republicans stuff like this to point at?

If Virginia was concerned about this they would have closed primaries like most states do. There’s nothing unethical about being able to vote in the primary in which you have a strong preference, no matter which one it is. And it gives independents an option when they don’t have one in states with closed primaries.

Also I’m not OP but I think you’re mistaken regarding his or her motives. Most Virginians don’t support Trump and it’s best to try to stop him wherever you can. Recall that Marco Rubio won the 2016 Virginia primary and that was with a competitive Democratic primary.

You are exactly right. The ignorance of the prior PP is stunning. Even in states with a closed primary, voters should change their party reg according to which primary they feel is more critical and where the want to have a VOICE!
The you vote however you want in the general months later.
Voting is a choice and a voice. NOT about party reg. Everyone should quit ceding so much power to the two dominant parties. So unhealthy for our democracy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is actually a question. I moved to VA decades ago and never needed to pick a party and could vote in any primary. And I’ve done so. Just this year, when affirming that wanted to vote by mail automatically (so Va mails me a ballot automatically), I for the first time saw that I had to choose R or D (or I I think). Not sure what the change is. Saving on postage?

I don’t think we are allowed to vote in both primaries. It’s not about registering with a party in VA but you have one primary vote.

True for a single election but for each election I pick the primary with the more interesting race.

Not sure why the OP cares about the presidential race, with the volume of voting it's the least likely that one vote will make a difference. In this case Trump will likely win by a wide margin, so not really worth the time.

If Biden declines to run the Democrat primary will be the one to watch.

Not true. In fact just the opposite. Primaries are historically much lower participation. Your vote really does matter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is actually a question. I moved to VA decades ago and never needed to pick a party and could vote in any primary. And I’ve done so. Just this year, when affirming that wanted to vote by mail automatically (so Va mails me a ballot automatically), I for the first time saw that I had to choose R or D (or I I think). Not sure what the change is. Saving on postage?

I don’t think we are allowed to vote in both primaries. It’s not about registering with a party in VA but you have one primary vote.

Obviously

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re in Virginia, you’re not registered with any particular party. The primaries are completely open.

Not sure if this is true since current governor.

What ?!? Please stop

Anonymous wrote:Register as Republican. You can change back later.

Exactly people do it all the time. Pretty common where I am in Moco where the primary effectively is the general election

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You can. I voted for McCain. You will be asked to sign a loyalty pledge.[/quote]

This is not true. I’m a lifelong Virginian and been registered to vote since I turned 18 (and I’m old). You do not register with a political party nor do you have to sign any loyalty pledge (WITW is that). For a primary, you simply show up and tell them what primary you’re voting in and they will give you the appropriate ballot. You can only vote in one, so if they’re both democrat and republican primaries at the same time you will have to pick.

Crossing party lines happens a lot in Virginia and is a well used strategy. This is how Bratt won the republican primary over Eric Cantor (democrats mobilized in mass and voted in the republican primary for Bratt thinking he would be the easier candidate to beat in the general election). It worked in beating Cantor but then Bratt won the general election. [/quote]

Well like I said I remember being told to sign a loyalty pledge when I voted for McCain. Evidently they put a stop to that fascist shit (because Republicans are inherently anti-American fascists) in 2016.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/va-elections-board-officially-repeals-loyalty-pledge-at-gop-request/2016/02/04/d2ec2c4a-cb44-11e5-a7b2-5a2f824b02c9_story.html