or her own party affiliation. Fourteen statesAlabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsinhave open primaries.

This system is sometimes criticized for increasing the ease with which voters can engage in party raiding. Raiding consists of voters of one party crossing over and voting in the primary of another party, effectively allowing a party to choose a weak