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Message: <blockquote data-quote="donner" data-source="post: 2768405" data-attributes="member: 277">It also works the other way, though, too. In states where the primary is the de facto election, open primaries allow citizens from both sides to shape the final outcome. If you're a republican who lives in the north east, you might vote in the democratic primary to help ensure the more conservative candidate wins since you know the R candidate wont win the general election. If you're a democrat in the south, you might vote in the GOP primary to help pick a moderate republican over a tea party republican since you know that the democratic candidate wont win the general election anyway. There is nothing, save for more planning, that keeps people from influencing the other party's primary regardless of how it is setup.</blockquote>