If person "A" is registered as a member of a certain political party, yet does not agree with many of the traditional values that said party adheres to, however he wishes to remain with said party in order to vote in primary elections, is he in fact holding true to...

Aww screw it.

I am a registered Democrat.
I have been a member of said party since I was 18.
As I have gotten older and experienced more of the world and the people that live on it, I have become very disillusioned with said party.
I do not wish to change my party affiliation, as I have many dislikes of the Republican party.
If I continue to vote in the Democratic Party in Primary elections, am I in fact "lying"?

Ah, I share your dilemma. I too have been a registered democrat since age 18, mostly for the opportunity to vote in the primaries--local elections especially.

I don't agree that you are lying. I continue to vote in the dem primaries--although I really am more of an independent. I've voted republican when I deemed the candidate more worthy.

This is AMERICA-you can vote however you want!
Vote early, vote often!

Or not at all and blame everyone else for making the wrong decision.

Couldn't you register as an independent and still vote how you like regardless of the party affilation of the candidates?

The issue is not whether or not you are Democrat. I'm sure you don't vote "straight Democrat" simply because you are one. After reviewing the issues and deciding what your stance on them is, the Democratic party just happens to be the party that believes what you do, and thus is awarded your vote. Correct? Either way, you should vote strictly according to your own predetermined beliefs, not theirs.

You can do so in the regular elections, but I believe you don't get to vote in the primaries if you're not a registered member of the party.

I wasn't sure myself. I found this after doing a little research...

In Florida, to vote in the Democratic or Republican primary, one must be
registered with that party. In other States, persons who are not affiliated with
any party may vote in the primary. Some states allow voters to affiliate on
election day, but perhaps not change their affiliation.

I do not understand the purpose to registering to a party. Of course I have a strong dislike for party loyalty's. I am a firm belief that you should vote for the person not the party.










Vote Ron Paul 2008

I think the party system is very sadly broken. I know a number of people who DO vote their party line, even when they can't explain the logic behind their parties actions.

And of course, a number of people change affiliations. If you do some research, you'll see that the current party platforms vary hugely from party platforms even just 50 years ago.

The only solution is to create your own political party and run for office.

I have thought about it....

So have I. The only thing stopping me is I'm not even old enough to vote yet, let alone be voted for.

(Question - is there an age restriction on running for office?)

Yeah, I think it is somewhere around 40.

That's ridiculous. But it does seem to be the case, unfortunately.

Did some research, and yep, appears to be roughly the case.
EDIT: According to research, the official rule is 18 years of age, though.

I don't think our senators can be elected so young.

Well, the word does come from the latin word meaning 'Old Man', which is also where senile comes from... Things all make sense now!

EDIT: Apparently, you've got to be at least 30 to be a US senator. It takes a while after that to get in, though.

As far as the primaries go...
A political party chooses the candidate that they want to represent them in the election, so of course you must be a member of that party in order to have a say. If that were not the case it would be possible for people to cast false votes in the primary in an attempt to sabotage the other party by voting for some one who who is less likley to beat "their" candidate.
Once the actual election happens you can vote however you like.

I think.
:P

In Nevada, we use the primary to deal with petitions and some non-partisan races. Everybody gets to vote the primary. HOWEVER, there are 3 ballots: Dems get a ballot with all the races except the REPUBLICAN nominations, Repubs get a ballot with everything except DEMOCRAT nominations, and everybody else gets a ballot with all the questions and non-partisan races, but neither set of nominations races.

In the US, you must be 25 to be a Representative, 30 to be a Senator, and 35 to be President or VP.

State, county and local offices have there own regulations based on where you live. State offices will likely have age limits. Local offices may not. (Some places have elected teenagers as Mayor and such.)

EDIT: If you live in the US, you should read your constitution (and understand it) at least once. There are plenty of books and materials to help you through it.

I agree with you. But there are some states with "open" primaries. They suggested it here once, and I think we actually ran that guy back to the peoples republic of california.

Choosing a party is valuable not only so that you can vote in the primaries but also so that you can receive information from that party. Sure, its biased toward their viewpoint but some literature is better than none.

If you are an independent, green, libertarian, whatever why should your vote not be considered when the primaries come around?

Thankfully ascribing to a party doesn't require you to agree with all of that party's stances (that'd be silly) so I wouldn't feel guilty so long as you picked the party you were most comfortable with philosophically.

Too many people try to make it sound like Republican's have to be pro gun, pro life, etc and democrats are polar opposites. The truth is that people believe more on a case by case basis. Don't succumb to peer pressure.