Since the Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the California open primary was unconstitutional, other states have had to revise their approaches to their primaries. Here, briefly, is a general explanation of some of the various primaries:
"Blanket" primary
A blanket primary is similar to a general election. Voters can jump around on the ballot, voting for whom they choose. The idea behind this form of primary is to allow people to choose the candidate they most prefer, giving party affiliation little importance. Candidates are still associated with a party, and each party's candidate with the most votes (in a contested primary) moves on to be that party's candidate in the general election in November. Until the Supreme Court rule it as unconstitutional, this system was used in Washington, California and Alaska.
"Closed" Primary
Most states use a primary system in which voters can select only within a party. In some states, a voter has to actually register as a party member in order to vote in that party's primary. Whether or not a voter registers a party affiliation, at the polling place the voter must "declare" a party to vote, either to receive the proper ballot, or to have the voting machine set to prevent "crossing over." This system is disliked because, especially in small communities, the anonimity of one's party affiliation can be questionable. This problem is often alleviated by printing all parties on one ballot, with the choices made completely in the voting booth.
Louisiana System
In Louisiana, voters can choose any candidate from any political party in the opening round of voting. If one candidate wins a majority of votes cast, that candidate is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority, the top two vote-getters -- regardless of party affiliation -- move on to the general election.
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