From today’s Hartford Courant:
With closely watched Democratic primaries for U.S. Senate and governor set for Aug. 8, thousands of unaffiliated voters have registered with political parties.
Since May, 6,715 unaffiliated voters have become Democrats and 419 have registered as Republicans.
In Connecticut, only voters who have registered with a political party are allowed to vote in that party’s primaries. There are limits imposed on folks who want to switch parties (a Dem turning Rep has to wait 90 days before voting in a Rep primary, and vice-versa), but there are no time limits imposed on affiliating or de-affiliating. Unaffiliated voters have until the day before the primary to register, and they can drop that affiliation the day after the primary.
It seems like a nice check on those who think only party members should be able vote in a primary. However, I still feel that if my tax dollars are paying to hold an election, I ought to be able to vote in it, regardless of whether I’m carrying a card stamped with an elephant, a donkey, or a Statue of Liberty.