Date of Award:

5-1968

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Arts (MA)

Department:

Political Science

Committee Chair(s)

JeDon Emenhiser

Committee

JeDon Emenhiser

Abstract

The advantage of the incumbent in gaining re-nomination and voter participation in primary elections was studied. Six states, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Montana, and Washington were used as examples of different types of primaries during the years compared.

There seemed to be no significant difference in the voter participation between the open and closed primaries. The other factors which influence voting behavior affected voter turnout more than the type of primary did.

The incumbent advantage was slightly greater in the open primary, but not enough to be statistically significant.

The closed primary of 1966 in Utah did affect the amount of voter participation slightly, but probably due more to a lack of understanding of the primary than a protest of it.

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