Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
A bill that would have helped close Tennessee primary elections by requiring party registration has been taken off notice by sponsor Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mount Juliet-District 27), reviving questions about the willingness of the General Assembly to abide by the will of their constituents and ensure only Republicans are selecting Republican candidates.
HB1159 would add language on the permanent registration record when a person registers to vote requiring them to select an official party affiliation. An individual would be designated “Unaffiliated” if they so choose or if they refuse or fail to make a designation.
The bill was set to be heard by the House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee on Tuesday, Jan. 20, but its status has been changed to “taken off notice” meaning the sponsor no longer wishes for the committee to hear or vote on the bill.
While a bill sponsor can take a bill off notice for several reasons, including knowledge that there may not be enough votes to support the bill’s passage or in favor of a bill by other lawmakers on the same subject, it generally indicates the bill will not be considered again for the session and there is a good chance it will be withdrawn completely.
Lynn initially introduced HB1159 last year but asked for it to be rolled to 2026 when a similar bill by Rep. Chris Todd made it to the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee. Both Todd’s bill and the corresponding Senate companion were killed in the committee process.
Now, it is unclear why Lynn has taken her bill off notice, especially when there do not appear to be any other different or stronger bills to replace HB1159 or otherwise tackle closed primaries.
The Tennessee Conservative reached out to Rep. Lynn for comment or explanation but has not received a response.
While HB1159 has been pulled for now, the Senate companion, SB0831, carried by Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald-District 28) is showing as still awaiting a date before the Senate State and Local Government Committee.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
5 Responses
Democrats showing up and voting against conservative candidates in Republican primaries is an important factor in the ability of the centrists/tepid conservatives holding power in the legislature and the Haslam/Lee administration controlling the governorship. Now hopefully no one expects them to just give that up just to be nice or fair unless and until we conservatives show an ability to start regularly defeating centrists/tepid conservatives and Haslam/Lee candidates in Republican primaries.
Well I will say it again. If you think that closing the primary will fix the cross over problem you are sadly mistaken. I lived and worked campaigns in PA and NJ for years and I can tell you cross over takes place in both of those states and they are both closed primary states. Cheaters are going to ALWAYS find a way to cheat. What will happen is an already poor turn out at the primary sites in TN will get even worse and that is one reason why many on the left like closed primaries. If you are classified as Independent or Unaffiliated in a closed primary YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO VOTE. And if you think only democrats cross over please awaken from your dream state. Until people become righteous and moral people you are going to have election fraud, voter fraud and cross over. Like I said I have been in closed primary states and open primary states and I’ll take open primaries any day. You will perpetuate poor voter turnout and disqualify many voters from voting in the primary because they are not a registered R or D.
Karen, IMHO we have WAAY too many uninformed voting who only know who’s name they’ve heard/saw the most. How did they vote Republican if they weren’t registered?
We need the names of who is killing those bills. They are RINOs who cater to the Dems. Before Primaries started, there were 9 Libs and 3 Conservatives on the Williamson School Board. Now there are 9 conservatives.
Thanks for your input Karen. I’ve often wondered about the comparison of closed primary vs. open states. I may not be correct about this, please correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems the open primary states are mostly Republican (honest, hardworking voters) and the predominate closed primary states are majority Democrat (union states that can and do demand support of ‘their’ candidates). Those political machines will find a way around the law, but law abiding voters will think twice if there are ramifications. Either way, I disagree with your take on closing a primary. I think quite the contrary. For every ‘independent’, non-party affiliated voter that is disgusted about having to commit to a party, there will be another enthusiastic, party affiliated voter that will not only vote in both the primary and general, but will participate in other ways for their candidate. Our low voter participation is attributed to the lack of commitment, not the threat of it. With a closed primary voters will be once again, committed, knowledgeable and ready to vote.