...are you guys saying that you are required to state a party affiliation before you're allowed to go to the ballot box?

Sorry, but that strikes me as kind of...undemocratic. Whose bloody business is it which candidate I vote for? What the hell happened to the secret ballot, which is the only REAL way to hold a democratic election?

I'm afraid that if we become citizens and someone asks me what party I support, I'll have to tell them to go whistle for it. I have a long history of voting for my candidate, and party really doesn't come into that.