Having voters declare their party affiliation in public is not the right way to hold a primary election. Why must a voter ask for a Democrat or Republican ballot? Many people are intimated, self-conscious or embarrassed, or simply feel it’s nobody’s business what their party affiliation is.
A much better way would be to have a ballot with the Democratic slate on one side and the Republican on the other. The voter could then choose the candidates in the voting booth. This would make it private. For those who defend the current system because it indicates how many Democrats or Republicans there are, the new system I suggest would be just as valid in accomplishing that task. The only difference is that it does it in the privacy of the voting booth.
