Word: stated
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Dates: during 2000-2000
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...Primaries use secret ballots, similar to those in general elections. Primary voters choose a slate of delegates who are affiliated with a particular candidate. In most states, those delegates sign a pledge to vote at the state convention for the candidate they represent...
...Each state regulates its primaries or caucuses differently. In some, voters are required to stay within the party with which they're registered when selecting candidates. In others, they can cross party lines and independent voters can participate...
...Before 1905, party bosses in each state handpicked their choice of candidate, leaving the general population with no say in the electoral process until the general election. Over time, most states switched to the caucuses and primaries, although many of those remained virtually meaningless for decades, as local delegates weren't bound to nominate the candidates who received the most votes. Instead, they would head to state conventions where their votes were bartered among local power brokers, thus keeping the power in the hands of the small cadre of party bosses. State party heads would then show...
...Around the time of Watergate, when the American public was growing increasingly disenchanted with the insulated nature of party politics, states began adopting a more open primary system, with a more publicly accountable nominating process. Many states, for instance, began requiring delegates to sign pledges to nominate the candidates for whom they had been stumping. While nominees are still officially announced at the state party conventions, this is now a mere formality in the 48 states that hold primary and caucuses, as the candidates with the most selected delegates are automatically anointed...
...Democratic party has national guidelines, whereas the GOP lets each state run its own system. The Democrats require states to send delegates based on the votes gained by each candidate to the national Democratic convention, where the nominee is officially announced. On the Republican side, some states use a winner-take-all system in which the state's quota of delegates to the national convention is devoted entirely to the candidate who won the most votes in that state...