In the
(a
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
), there are two recognized political parties and an additional 30 political designations in which
registered voters
In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote.
The ru ...
may choose to enroll. Voters may also choose to remain as "
unenrolled voter
An independent voter, often also called an unaffiliated voter or non-affiliated voter in the United States, is a voter who does not align themselves with a political party. An independent is variously defined as a voter who votes for candidates o ...
s" (i.e.,
independents).
Political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...
hold
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
s, while political designations do not. A political designation is a one-to-three word descriptive term which may appear next to candidates' names on election ballots.
Background
To be recognized as a political designation in Massachusetts, fifty registered voters must file a document with the state seeking this status. To be recognized as a political party, a designation must either have obtained at least 3% of the vote for any state-wide office at the preceding biennial state election, or have enrolled at least 1% of all registered voters.
Election ballots include the candidates' names followed by either the candidates' party or their designation. In many cases, non-party designations still include the word "party" in their name. In 2022, however, only two such designations are recognized as parties: the
Republican Party and the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
Enrolled and unenrolled voters
In Massachusetts,
registered voters
In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote.
The ru ...
may choose to (1) enroll in a political party; (2) enroll with a political designation; or (3) choose to be an
unenrolled voter
An independent voter, often also called an unaffiliated voter or non-affiliated voter in the United States, is a voter who does not align themselves with a political party. An independent is variously defined as a voter who votes for candidates o ...
(i.e., an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
).
Voters may change their enrollment status with their election official, with a deadline twenty days before an election.
All registered voters may vote in general elections. Massachusetts voters enrolled in a particular party may vote only in that party's
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
, and cannot cross-over to vote in another party's primary,
but "unenrolled" voters may cast a primary ballot for one of the four parties.
[Political Parties and Political Designations, As of 12/31/2014](_blank)
Town of North Reading (accessed August 27, 2016). Political designations are treated as "unenrolled" voters for primary purposes, and so they too may choose to vote in one of the party primaries.
Under Massachusetts law, a political designation is created when fifty registered Massachusetts voters "file a form with the
Secretary of the Commonwealth requesting that they, or any other voters, may change their registration to such designation." These non-party political designations may field candidates for statewide office, if they petition with a sufficient number of signatures (10,000).
The various political designations have generally small membership, although they have attracted some media attention.
List of current parties and designations
, the
Secretary of the Commonwealth listed two officially recognized political parties and 30 officially recognized political designations in Massachusetts.
See also
*
List of elections in Massachusetts
This is an incomplete list of elections in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts sorted both by offices sought and by years held.
Elections are administered by the individual municipalities. There is some oversight by the Secretary of the Commonwea ...
*
Political party strength in Massachusetts
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in Massachusetts:
*Governor
*Lieutenant Governor
* Secretary of the Commonwealth
*Attorney General
* Treasurer and Receiver-General
*Auditor
The table also indicates the historical part ...
Notes
References
{{reflist, 2
Election law
Massachusetts elections
Politics of Massachusetts