What is the significance of being a 'registered' voter

[sarmajor]

For the edification of one not over familiar with the inner workings of the US electoral system what is the significance of being a registered democrat or republican.

Does registration signify that you are a financial card carrying member of that party?

If you are not registered are you barred from voting?

If you are registered must you vote for that party or, on election day, can you vote for the opposition.

Seems a strange system for an Australian where every adult, by law, must enrol on attaining the age of 18 years and then vote at subsequent elections.

Voting here is conducted by means of a secret ballot. By being registered does that ensure that you are casting a public vote (eg one queue for republican voters and another for democrats).

[elalumno]

As far as I know there is no such thing in Texas. The difference does come in the Primary elections though. In the Primary elections people of the same party are running to be the party nominee for the general election. They are not running against people of the opposing party. A voter may chose to vote in the primary of thier choice (generally republican or democrat). If a person votes in the democratic primary, they are generally "registered" as such in a loose sort of way. If there are run off elections then the person can only vote in the same party run off as they did in the primary. In Texas, by voting in the party primary one can then go on to the precinct caucus and all the way up to the national convention as a delegate. I do not recall ever having a system where one technically registers as a party member in any way.

Voter registration is merely a system in which all people eligible to vote get registered and thus can vote.

[thaanatos]

actually, I believe quite a few states permit people registered in one party to vote in the primaries of the other party.....perhaps Kerry has actually been 'inflicted' on the Democrats by stealth Republican voters......

[thaanatos]

If you are not registered are you barred from voting?
if you have not registered at all, you cannot vote....that is to keep people from visiting a number of polling places on the same day....

but there is no requirement that you register as a member of any particular party, and I suspect that the majority of people, even some of those who vote 'straight ticket' frequently, are registered as Indepandants.....

I have always been registered as an independant, even though I have, from time to time, been a membership-card-carrying, money-contributing Republican....

[LocalBrew]

Seems a strange system for an Australian where every adult, by law, must enrol on attaining the age of 18 years and then vote at subsequent elections. ~ Sarmajor

We Americans tend not to require citizens to register for anything other than a Social Security #. Votiing is optional. Paying taxes is not.

Somehow requiring people to register and vote in a free society seems almost - well - not exactly democratic.