Reminder: voters must affiliate with a political party by March 31

Utah voters will be required to affiliate with a political party by March 31 in order to participate and vote in the primary election. Photo: Element5 Digital.

PARK CITY, Utah — With the primary election set to take place on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, voters will be required to affiliate with a political party by March 31 in order to participate and vote in the primary election.

In the state of Utah, the Democratic Party conducts semi-closed primaries which means that voters must either be a registered party member or unaffiliated in order to participate in the primary. Meanwhile, the Republican Party conducts closed primaries in which voters must be registered members in order to participate.

Courtesy of House Bill 197, which was passed last year, voters who are already registered with a political party after March 31 of an election year, are not able to make any party affiliation change until after that year’s primary election. Unaffiliated voters could register with a party at any time and still vote in the primary. The bill came in response to the Utah GOP gubernatorial race last summer when a substantial number of Democrats registered as Republicans to vote in that party’s closed primary election.

Voters are required to affiliate with a political party by March 31 at 5 p.m. Once affiliated, voters will be allowed to select a candidate that they believe should be a political party’s candidate for elected office to run in the upcoming general election.

Registration to vote can be completed online or by mail. The deadline to register is 11 days before the election. The primary election will take place Tuesday, June 28, 2022, with the general election on November 8, 2022. Polling hours are from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.