Can you switch political parties

See Checking Your Registration for details. A voter may choose one political party or can decide not to register with a political party. If a voter does not register with a political party, the voter will be registered as unaffiliated. Since , comparably small shares of registered voters in both parties have changed parties. While individual-level change has not resulted in a significant net shift in the overall balance of party identification in the electorate, that is not the case within demographic groups.

These patterns are similar to those seen in prior years and are consistent with the long-term shifts in the composition of Republican and Democratic voters. A recent Pew Research Center examination of trends in partisan identification since , based on telephone surveys, illustrated that white college-educated voters have moved in a Democratic direction over time, while white voters without a college degree have become more Republican.

For the most part, the partisan leanings of voters do not change over short periods. The current study finds that nearly nine-in-ten voters who leaned toward or identified with a given party in currently report identifying with or leaning toward that same party — including about eight-in-ten who have consistently reported that affiliation or leaning in five surveys conducted over the past two years.

Overall, about one-in-five voters made at least some change in their partisanship over the past two years, but these changes have not favored either party. Voters who have not wavered in their party loyalty are more engaged in politics and demographically different than those who have changed their party affiliation one or more times over the past few years.

Consistent partisans are also substantially more likely than others to say they talk about politics at least a few times a week. The Secretary of State compiles voter statistics by political party and jurisdictions. The state government does not collect voter race, voter age or voter gender data.

You may contact your county elections official or refer to "Who Are My Representatives? County elections officials mail vote-by-mail ballots to all active registered voters.

If you failed to receive your vote-by-mail ballot or you have lost or destroyed your original ballot, contact your county elections official in order to be sent a second vote-by-mail ballot. If you failed to receive your vote-by-mail ballot or you have lost or destroyed your original vote-by-mail ballot, and you are unable to vote in person at the polls, you may apply in writing for a late vote-by-mail ballot.

This application will need to be provided in person to the county elections official by you or your representative. Once you mark your ballot, fill out and sign the return envelope, you can personally or through your authorized representative, submit your ballot either to your elections official or any polling place within your jurisdiction. Vote-by-mail ballots that are personally delivered must be delivered no later than the close of polls at p.

Vote-by-mail ballots that are mailed must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by your county elections office no later than 7 days after Election Day.

If you are not sure your vote-by-mail ballot will arrive in time if mailed, take it to your county elections office on or before Election Day or to any polling place in your county between a. You may return it in person to any polling place in your county or to your county elections office on Election Day. If you are unable to return the ballot yourself, you may designate any person to return the ballot to the elections official or the precinct board at any polling place within the jurisdiction.

The ballot must be received by the elections official or the precinct board before the close of the polls at p. Your polling place will be printed on the county voter information guide you receive from your county elections official prior to an election.

You may also contact your local county elections office for polling place information. If you live in a county that is conducting elections under the California Voter's Choice Act , please visit that web page for more information. All polling place locations are open on Election Day from a. Counties try to use the same polling place for each election, so your polling place normally does not change between the primary and the general elections.

If the county is conducting smaller local elections where the turnout is likely to be lower, the county may consolidate precincts into fewer polling places. You can always determine where your polling place is by looking at the back of your county voter information guide, which you will receive from your county elections official. The back cover contains the name and address of your polling place. You can also call your county elections official to find out where your polling place is located.

The Secretary of State has established a toll-free Voter Hotline for requests for voter registration forms and other election materials and to report suspicions of voting or registration irregularities. The number is VOTE The election results from past statewide elections can be found at Election Results.

The Secretary of State's office has been working with a wide range of groups throughout the state to increase voter participation. We are always looking for better ways to reach out and engage citizens in the voting process.

Our Voter Education and Outreach webpage will provide you with information on some of the programs and events we are currently working on. President, county central committees, or local offices. Most of the offices that were previously known as "partisan" are now known as "voter-nominated" offices. Voter-nominated offices are state constitutional offices, state legislative offices, U. The only "partisan offices" now are the offices of U. President and county central committee.

All candidates for voter-nominated offices are listed on one ballot and only the top two vote-getters in the primary election — regardless of party preference - move on to the general election. A write-in candidate will only move on to the general election if the candidate is one of the top two vote-getters in the primary election. Prior to the Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, the top vote-getter from each qualified political party, as well as any write-in candidate who received a certain percentage of votes, moved on to the general election.

President, county central committee, or local office. If a qualified political party chooses to hold a modified-closed presidential primary, the party must notify the California Secretary of State no later than the th day before Election Day. The term "party preference" is now used in place of the term "party affiliation. If the candidate has a qualified political party preference, that qualified political party will be indicated by the candidate's name on the ballot.

If a candidate does not have a party preference, "Party Preference: None" will be indicated by the candidate's name on the ballot. Similarly, voters who were previously known as "decline-to-state" voters because they did not have a party affiliation are now known as having "no party preference" or known as "NPP" voters.

The top two vote-getters move on to the general election regardless of party preference or whether one candidate receives a majority of all votes cast in the primary election. Only candidates running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction or candidates for voter-nominated offices in special elections can win outright by getting a majority of the vote over 50 percent in the primary election.

The top two vote-getters move on to the general election regardless of candidate pool size, party preference, or whether one candidate receives the majority of all votes cast in the primary election. Candidates running for a voter-nominated office cannot run in the general election without having been one of the top two vote-getters in the primary election refer to " What is a voter-nominated office?

An exception is made if no candidate has been nominated at the primary election for a voter-nominated office. If this occurs, a candidate can use the independent nomination process to run in the general election. Additionally, candidates running for the office of U. Within Pennsylvania less than 30 days before an election , you must vote at the polling place for your old address.

Fill out a change of address form at the polling place to update your voter registration to your new address. If you move out of Pennsylvania to a different state, you may need to register before you can vote in your new state. You can cancel your registration in Pennsylvania by filling out a:.

Mail the form to the Pennsylvania county election office where you used to live. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page. An Official Pennsylvania Government Website.