Nonpartisan voters could choose a major-party primary ballot

A registered voter with no political-party affiliation could request and vote a major-party ballot in a primary election. The option would cover registered nonpartisan voters choosing a major political party's ballot for partisan offices. The voter could request a mail ballot through the county clerk or request a partisan ballot in person. A voter could not cast more than one mail ballot or ballot in the primary election. The statewide voter list would record the party ballot the voter requested. A mail-ballot request would be due no later than the seventh Monday before the primary election; in-person requests could occur during early voting or on primary election day.

A county clerk would prepare and distribute a major-party mail ballot to each registered nonpartisan voter who requests one under the bill's procedure. The requirement would apply to requested partisan mail ballots in a primary election and would operate alongside the rules for distributing other election mail ballots. The voter would need to request the ballot under the bill's procedure. The clerk would still apply the limits that prevent a voter from receiving or casting more than one ballot for the primary. The clerk would provide the ballot after a registered nonpartisan voter makes a qualifying request for a primary election.

Election-board members would give a nonpartisan voter who requests a major-party ballot a ballot marked with that party and direct the voter to that party's candidate list. The procedure would apply to nonpartisan voters using a partisan ballot in a primary election, including elections using mechanical voting systems. If the clerk uses voting receipts with electronic voting, the receipt would also name the chosen party. A county clerk could require these voters to use the same voting method used for nonpartisan voters in precincts or districts where the chosen party has less than 5 percent of registered voters. The voting program would not count unlawful votes. These instructions would apply when the voter receives and casts a partisan ballot during a primary election.