The Political Process

The Australian ballot is a secret ballot: No one can see for whom one votes. It allows voters to avoid pressure to vote for a specific candidate and undercuts selling votes.

In an open primary, someone does not need to belong to a party to participate, but that person can only vote for one party’s candidates. In a closed primary, only party members may vote; most states hold this type of primary.

Some explanations for low turnout include inconvenience, registration, similarity of the parties, alienation, frequency of elections, and lack of competitiveness.