What are the advantages and disadvantages of a closed primary?

Answer 1

FOR: 1. It prevents one party from "raiding" the closed primary in the hope of nominating weaker candidates in the other party.

2. It helps make candidates more responsive to the party, its platform, and its members.

3. It helps make voters more thoughtful, because the must choose between the parties In order to vote in the primaries.

AGAINST: 1. It compromises the secrecy of the ballot, because it forces voters to make their party preferences known in public, and

2. It tends to exclude independent voters from the nomination process

Answer 2

a closed primary means that there cannot be tactical voting from opposing party members