What kind of election

Special elections may be held:. The county or counties running the special election must advertise the date and locations for the special election, as well as the candidates running for office. Everyone who lives in the district the candidates will represent can vote in the special election. In presidential elections, each political party holds a national convention where they choose their nominee for president. The results of the primary election determine how votes from Pennsylvania are cast at the convention.

The nominees from each party run against each other in the general election in November. The president is officially elected by the Electoral College, and not the popular vote. But the popular vote — including your vote — helps decide which candidate receives Pennsylvania's electoral votes. The Electoral College is a group of citizens known as electors.

Pennsylvania has 20 electoral votes. In Pennsylvania, each candidate for president chooses a list of electors. The Constitution created the Electoral College to ensure that each state had a role in selecting the president, no matter its population. Each state has the same number of electoral votes as it has members of Congress. There are a total of votes in the Electoral College.

A blanket or "free love" primary is a type of open primary. In the voting booth you mark a ballot that lists the candidates for nomination of all the parties, and thus you can help select the Democratic candidate for one office and the Republican candidate for another. Closed Primary - the selection of a party's candidates in an election limited to registered party members. Prevents members of other parties from "crossing over" to influence the nomination of an opposing party's candidate.

Runoff Primary - if no candidate gets a majority of the votes, a runoff is held to decide who should win. Presidential Primary - a primary used to pick delegates to the presidential nominating conventions of the major parties. Election Vocabulary Electoral College - A group of persons called "electors," selected by the voters in each state, that officially elects the president and vice president.

Other Sources of Information: Library of Congress Teaching materials for educating students on the electoral process. Vote Smart. Thank You! Iowa asks voters to choose a party on the state voter registration form, yet it allows a primary voter to publicly change party affiliation for purposes of voting on primary Election Day.

Some state parties keep track of who votes in their primaries as a means to identify their backers. This system differs from a true open primary because a Democrat cannot cross over and vote in a Republican party primary, or vice versa.

The choice is public information, although it does not change the voter's unaffiliated status. In an open primary, voters may choose privately in which primary to vote.

This permits a voter to cast a vote across party lines for the primary election. Supporters say this system gives voters maximal flexibility—allowing them to cross party lines—and maintains their privacy. Advocates of the "top-two" format argue that it increases the likelihood of moderate candidates advancing to the general election ballot.

Opponents maintain that it reduces voter choice by making it possible that two candidates of the same party face off in the general election.

They also contend that it is tilted against minor parties who will face slim odds of earning one of only two spots on the general election ballot. State and federal elections in Louisiana, and legislative elections in Nebraska, share some common traits with top-two primaries, but are distinct.