Utah voters shun labels

"People don't like it. On Election Day, you would figure that most of the calls we get would be about where people need to go to vote, and we do get a lot of those. But we get more from people upset that primaries are closed," said Mark Thomas, office administrator for the lieutenant governor's office.

Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, said his party does not force unaffiliated voters to register as Democrats "because we want our process to be as open as possible." Some observers have also said if unaffiliated voters vote Democratic in a primary, they may be more likely to do so in the general election.

Taylor notes that in the regular, non-presidential primaries in June, Utah Democrats allow anyone — Democrats, unaffiliated and Republicans — to vote Democratic. For the presidential primary, he said the national party wanted it limited to party members and unaffiliated voters.

He urges unaffiliateds to consider voting Democratic because, "Given that the Republican nomination in Utah (where Romney is far ahead in polls) is almost settled, this (Democratic primary) is where your vote will make the most difference."

State Republican Chairman Stan Lockhart said requiring unaffiliated voters who want to vote in a Republican primary to register Republican "is nothing new. It's been that way for years. ... Anyone can vote in our primary if they are unaffiliated or Republican, but they will need to register as Republican at the polls. We welcome unaffiliateds."

Taylor noted that Utah's large number of unaffiliated voters changes the way some candidates campaign here.

"Clearly, that's the point of TV ads by Obama and Clinton. If the primary were limited to registered Democrats, it would be cheaper to use targeted mailing or go door to door with personal contact. But they are trying to reach out," he said.

Thomas noted that the people who may feel the most left out on Election Day may be those registered with the Constitution Party. That party has no presidential primary itself. And its registered members cannot switch on Election Day to participate in one of the other primaries. They can only participate by re-registering for another party in person by Tuesday at their county clerk's office.

"Otherwise, there's essentially no reason for them to show up at the polls," Thomas said.

He also notes that some other parties recognized in the past in Utah — such as the Green or Personal Choice parties — are no longer certified by the state because they received too few votes in recent elections. People who were registered with them have been moved by officials into the ranks of the "unaffiliated."

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