In a short time the Macon-Bibb County Board of elections of Georgia will be holding Democratic and Republican primaries to determine the respective party nominees to be placed on the ballot for the general election to be held in November.  I have often heard voters complain that they should be allowed to vote in both primaries in situations where the like "x" running for the nomination for an office in the Democratic primary, and "y" running for nomination for another office in the Republican primary.  Further, they are upset because they had to tell the poll worker which primary, Democratic or Republican, i which they wished to vote.  I suspect that this complaint arises because the average voter does not fully understand the purpose of a "primary" election.  It will be helpful to this understanding to review the national political party convention nomination system.  Although there are many political parties in addition to the Democratic and Republican parties, for simplicity, I will refer only to these two major parties.

        Every four years the Democratic and Republican parties meet in their respective groups and select a candidate to carry their party's banner into a general election for President of the United States.  To be selected as a delegate to a party's national convention is considered an important honor.  No Democrat expects to serve as a delegate to the Republican convention, nor is a Republican allowed to help in the selection process of the Democrats.  Some states also hold conventions where the party faithful select their State and local nominees to run against the nominees of the opposite party in the general election.  The State of Georgia does not have this type of party convention.

        Georgia provides for party primaries to allow anyone to select a party and participate in the selection of that political party's nominee.  This right is given upon the "delegate/voter" merely telling the poll official that he or she would like to vote in the Democratic or Republican primary, with no additional evidence of qualification to participate in that party's nomination process.  In fact, no binding records are kept as to which primary a voter participated in past primaries and so the voter can switch back and forth from one party's election primary to another party's election primary in successive primary elections if he or she wishes to do so.  However, he or she can't participate in selecting party nominees in both party parmaries during the same primary nor should the "delegate/voter" be allowed to do so.  The same individual would not expect to be a delegate to the national Democratic convention to select the Democratic party nominee for President and a delegate to the national Republican convention to select the Republican party nominee for President in the same year!

        Instead of holding local and state party conventions where only a few of the "party" leaders participate in the selection process, we hold party "primaries" which serve the same purpose, and allow participation by every voter in one or the other primary.  Unlike many states, no party registration is required in Georgia, even though a declaration to the poll worker of which primary you wish to vote is necessary.  Of course, in the general election you can cross back and forth across party lines as often as you like and vote for whichever nominee is listed on the ballot for an office regardless of which party nominated him or her in that party's primary "election" or in which primary you might have voted.  (Copyright, 1987, Homer M. Scarborough, Jr.)