What is the difference between opened and closed primaries?

Answer 1

In an open primary anyone can vote for any candidate in either party regardless of whether they are registered democrat or republican. In a closed primary you can only vote for someone in your registered party.

Answer 2

In an open primary, all voters may participate (even if they don't belong to the party) in choosing a Democratic candidate or Republican candidate, but they can only vote in one party's primary. In a closed primary, only members of a political party can vote.

Answer 3

An open primary is a process in which a voter, regardless of party affiliation, can pick the ballot of any party he chooses to vote in that particular primary. For instance, a Democratic voter could vote in a Republican primary in a state with an open primary.

A closed primary is one in which you can only vote for the party of which you are a declared member. Closed primaries often exclude independents because primaries only decide the nominations of the Republican and Democratic parties.

17 States have an Open Primary, 33 do not.