Party Membership
Joining a party is one of the first meaningful decisions you make after creating your character. Party membership opens primaries, whip directives, party action pools, and the entire state-party infrastructure to you. Playing as an independent is possible but strictly harder.
How to join a party#
From your character's profile or the parties page, select a party in your country and home region and click Join Party. Your character is immediately assigned to that party. There is no approval step for joining.
Requirements:
- You must have an active character
- You must join a party in your own country
- You cannot be in the middle of an active candidacy in a different party's primary
Switching parties#
You can switch parties from your character's party settings. Switching is not instantaneous: there is a cooldown period on joining a party. The cooldown is stamped when you join, not when you leave.
Leaving a party to become an independent does not trigger the cooldown. You can leave freely at any time. The cooldown only applies when you subsequently join a new party.
If you switch parties mid-campaign or mid-term, your current office does not change. You still hold the seat you won; only your primary eligibility and party actions shift. NPPs and other players in the legislature will notice the switch.
What membership gives you#
| Benefit | Requires |
|---|---|
| Enter the party's primary for any eligible office | Active membership |
| Receive whip directives from party leadership | Active membership |
| Appear in state party member lists | Active membership |
| Access to party action pool (spending actions) | State or national leadership role |
| Participate in state party leadership elections | Membership in that state |
| Vote in party leadership elections | Active member in good standing |
| Pay state party taxes | Active membership (automatic deduction from fund generation) |
Primary eligibility#
Party membership is required to enter a party's primary. You must be a member of the party before the primary closes: late-joining to snipe a primary is blocked.
Independents run in the "independent" party primary using the same rules as any other party. They are not exempt from primaries; there is no general-phase bypass.
Whip directives#
Party leadership (state chair, vice chair, national chair) can issue whip directives to tell you how to vote on:
- Bills in the House, Senate, or State Senate
- Speaker of the House elections
- Senate leadership elections
Whip directives are advisory: you are never forced to follow them. But party leaders track compliance, and a reputation for breaking with the whip affects your relationships with leadership and the NPPs they influence.
Taxes#
Joining a party means paying taxes. Your fund generation each turn is partially diverted to the state party treasury:
- State tax rate: set by the state party treasurer or chair; can vary by state
- National tax rate: set by the national party; applied on top of the state rate
These funds flow into state and national party treasuries and are spent on GOTV budgets, suppression, org building, and party actions.
Related#
- Political Parties: party overview, ideology system, party numbering.
- Party Leadership: who sets tax rates and manages the treasury.
- Party Actions: what party resources are spent on.
- NPP Behavior: how NPPs respond to whip directives.