=Existing Primary Laws.=--At present nearly every state has a law regulating in some way the holding of primary elections. In general, these laws apply to every organized political party that cast at least a certain number of votes at the preceding election; and they provide that the primaries of all such parties shall be held on the same day (in some states at the same polling places, and by the same officials that hold the regular elections), and in accordance with the rules and safeguards governing the regular elections. They fix the date on which the primaries shall be held and require that due notice shall be given thereof; they prescribe the manner of nominating delegates (and such candidates for public office as are chosen directly by the primaries); they provide for the use of official ballots printed at public expense; they contain provisions in regard to the organization and powers of the party committees, and in general they regulate everything relating to the conduct of the primaries that would be a subject of regulation if they were regular elections. _The Party Test._--One of the most difficult problems in the enactment of legislation concerning the primary election is how to prescribe fairly the qualifications that must be possessed by those who shall be allowed to participate in the primary. It is often embarrassing and disagreeable for a voter when he appears at the polls to cast his vote to be compelled to reveal his party affiliation, yet unless he is required to do so, the adherents of one party might easily participate in the primary of another with a view to bringing about the nomination of its weakest candidates. Thus in a Western city some years ago where the primary law did not require a declaration of party affiliation, a large number of the members of one party entered the primary of the opposite party and brought about the nomination of their weakest candidate for mayor, and thus at the regular election the party to which the "invaders" belonged was easily able to defeat him with its own candidate. An "open" primary is open to any and all voters. Most primary laws, however, insist upon a statement by the voter of his party affiliation as a condition to participation in the primary, which is therefore called a "closed" primary. Usually the test of membership is that the voter must have affiliated with the party at the last election, and sometimes he must pledge himself to support at the coming election the candidates nominated at the primary of the party in which he participates.