Absentee Voting

I'm not really sure where this question belongs, so I'll try here!

I got my absentee voting ballot today. Now, I'm not the best voter, I tend to only vote in November when it's a Presidential election. So my absentee ballot is for the Primary elections on June 8. What exactly are the primaries? I feel really stupid asking, because I should know!    I just wanted a ballot for November. Also, I assume I'll automatically get another absentee ballot for November without having to apply for it again, is that right?

I plan to send this off anyway but I'd like to know what the Primaries are! Thanks.

Actually, I've just read another post by LisaE in which she states that you have to request an absentee ballot each year. So that answers part of my question, thanks LisaE!

If you are registered in a certain party, you can vote in the Primaries. That's the "pre-election" where you can choose which person you want to represent your particular party. In November, there's the General Election, where the winners of the primaries (one person per position, ie: Kerry/Democrat vs. Bush/Republican) compete for final winner.

Got it. I thought it was something like that but I wasn't too sure. Thanks for clearing that up for me!