How Maryland’s Primary Election System Works

Maryland uses a closed primary system, meaning voters must be registered with a political party in order to participate in that party’s primary election. Registered Democrats may vote only in Democratic primaries, while registered Republicans may vote only in Republican primaries.

Voters who are registered as unaffiliated or with a minor party generally cannot vote in Democratic or Republican primary elections. Maryland’s primaries are used to select each party’s nominees for offices such as U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, statewide offices, and state and local positions.

Maryland does not use statewide primary runoff elections. Instead, the candidate receiving the most votes in each primary wins the party’s nomination for the general election.