§17-13-3. Time and place for holding primary elections.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), primary elections, except special primary elections and presidential preference primaries, held at the expense of the state or counties, shall be held on the first Tuesday in June. When necessary, as provided in this chapter, a second or runoff primary election shall be held on the sixth Tuesday following the primary election. Any second primary shall be held by the same election officers who held the first primary, and be held at the same places as the first primary election. No primary shall be held by any political party except as herein provided. Primary elections herein provided for shall be held at the regular polling places established for the purpose of holding general elections.

(b) In years in which a presidential primary is conducted, the primary election shall be the second Tuesday in March.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any year in which the primary election is held in March and the primary election is held in conjunction with the presidential preference primary election, as provided in this section and Section 17-13-100, any reference in any existing statutes to a primary election being held in June shall be construed to refer to the primary election in March.

(Acts 1975, No. 1196, p. 2349, §5; Acts 1977, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 69, p. 1493, §1; Acts 1978, No. 691, p. 994, §16; Acts 1979, No. 79-800, p. 1463, §1; Acts 1985, No. 85-389, p. 344; Acts 1990, No. 90-699, p. 1359, §1; Act 2006-354, p. 937, §1; Act 2006-634, p. 1731, §1; §17-16-6; amended and renumbered by Act 2006-570, p. 1331, §59; repealed by Act 2007-461, p. 965, §1; added by Act 2007-461, p. 965, §2; Act 2011-566, §§1, 2.)