State of Maine: We all pay the tab, but not everyone’s invited to the table Like a Maine crocus, “open primaries” poke their head above ground in Augusta almost every winter only to freeze to death in a late winter snowfall or wither and die in the spring. What’s up with that? A primary election is the process of nominating candidates for the general election. That happens in a number of different ways among states and among parties. Maine is one of just 14 states that have “closed” primaries, meaning only members of a party may vote in the party primaries.