It’s that time of year again! On Tuesday, March 8, 2016, Michigan will hold its presidential primary, which will help to influence the selection of each party’s nominee at their respective national conventions. The primary will be held one week after “Super Tuesday” – so named because several states will be holding primary elections and caucuses that day.

Michigan’s presidential primary is designated as a “closed” primary; that is, each voter must choose either a Republican or Democratic party ballot before entering a voting booth. (In an “open” primary, voters are provided with a ballot listing each qualified party’s candidates and voters decide which primary to participate in while in the privacy of the voting station.) Michigan voters need not be formally affiliated with a political party to participate. Although State law requires that a public list be made available that includes each voter’s presidential primary ballot selection, the specific candidate chosen by each voter will remain private.

An updated list of Michigan presidential primary candidates is published online. Also available is a document entitled Michigan Presidential Primary Facts and Statistics, which sets forth electoral statistics, past election results and interesting facts about Michigan’s primary elections.

The polls are scheduled to be open from 7 a.m. through 8 p.m. See you there!