Voting

The legislature shall provide for the registration of voters and for absentee voting and shall prescribe the method of voting at all elections. Secrecy of voting shall be preserved; provided that no person shall be required to declare a party preference or nonpartisanship as a condition of voting in any primary or special primary election. Secrecy of voting and choice of political party affiliation or nonpartisanship shall be preserved. [Am Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978] Cross References Absentee voting, see chapter 15. Registration, see chapter 11, pt II. Voting methods, see chapter 16. Attorney General Opinions Referred to in passing on method of voting by absentee ballot. Att. Gen. Op. 68-8. Case Notes Where political party did not develop evidence showing that the State's open primary system severely burdened its associational rights, the party's facial challenge failed; among other things, the party provided no evidence showing a "clear and present danger" that adherents of opposing parties determined the party's nominees. 833 F.3d 1119 (2016). Where plaintiff claimed provisions requiring an open primary were facially unconstitutional because allowing voters to associate anonymously with a political party violated a party's First Amendment right of free association: (1) plaintiff's purely facial challenge to the open primary failed; and (2) the court could not assess whether plaintiff's associational rights were burdened without considering evidence as to the extent, if any, of that burden. 982 F. Supp. 2d 1166 (2013).