Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
One of two bills requiring voters to officially register with a political party is making progress after being passed by the House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee last week.
HB1159 calls for the creation of a process requiring voters to select an official party affiliation at the time of their voter registration. Individuals would be designated “Unaffiliated” if they choose or if they fail to make a party selection, theoretically preventing them from voting in partisan primary elections.
There has been some confusion revolving around the bill as it was initially pulled off the calendar in favor of Rep. Chris Todd’s seemingly stronger bill, HB0886, but then was placed back on notice and passed through the House subcommittee.
Lynn’s office informed The Tennessee Conservative that their “hope is that by showing the House has enthusiasm for this issue, that this will encourage the Senate to take action on either bill.”
During the subcommittee meeting, Rep. Lynn clarified that under the bill, voters would be able to change their party designation at any time using the standard voter registration update process which allows registrations to be changed up until 30 days before an election.
“It really provides a clean and simple process to accomplish this,” Lynn said. “New voters would simply designate when they fill in their mail-in or online registration or at the election commission, and current voters, the next time they go to vote in a primary election, they would designate their party preference.”
Democrat Jason Powell stated his concerns with not allowing Independent or Unaffiliated voters to have a say in party primaries, believing it could have “a chilling effect” on those who may prefer candidates from different parties election to election.
“I think we’ve had a strong history in our state of voters being able to cross over who maybe feel like one year they might align with one political party and the next year they might change and align more with another political party,” he said.“I can’t speak for your party, but I know for my party we’re always trying to recruit new people into the party and want to see it grow, and my concern here is really that we are now creating logistical problems for people that want to vote and going to create more barriers.”
In response, Lynn reiterated that Independent voters identify as such for a reason. “They didn’t want to join a political party. But they will get to vote on the final candidates in the general election, so it’s not going to have any chilling effect on their ability to vote, it’s just that they’re not participating in the party’s primary election, and that’s all,” she said.
Per current Tennessee law, crossover and Independent voting is already legally prohibited as only “bona fide” members of each party are supposed to be able to participate in primary elections. But as the statutes do not provide any enforcement mechanisms, the law is nearly impossible to track or apply.
After a few more clarifying questions, the committee voted 5-2 in favor of passage, with Republican Rep. Dave Wright joining Democrat Powell to vote against.
The Senate companion to Lynn’s bill, SB0831, is carried by Sen. Joey Hensley, but has yet to pick up any additional co-sponsors or have a hearing before the Senate State and Local Government Committee.
Rep. Todd contends that his bill, HB0886, is still viable and is ready to be revived in the Senate very soon. He is urging constituents to contact members of the Senate State and Local Government Committee and “express their support for Senator Lowe’s bill (my companion bill) [SB0777] and ask them to support what the Republican SEC has repeatedly demanded. Ask them to co-sponsor the bill.”
In the meantime, HB1159 will head to the full House State & Local Government Committee at a date yet to be determined. To contact members of this committee with thoughts on this legislation, use the information below:
Rep.john.crawford@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.dave.wright@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.michele.carringer@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.jesse.chism@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.vincent.dixie@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov
rep.michael.lankford@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.tom.leatherwood@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.greg.martin@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.jake.mccalmon@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.larry.miller@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.bo.mitchell@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.jerome.moon@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.jason.powell@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.iris.rudder@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.gabby.salinas@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.todd.warner@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.john.crawford@capitol.tn.gov; rep.dave.wright@capitol.tn.gov; rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov; rep.ed.butler@capitol.tn.gov; rep.michele.carringer@capitol.tn.gov; rep.jesse.chism@capitol.tn.gov; rep.vincent.dixie@capitol.tn.gov; rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov; rep.dan.howell@capitol.tn.gov; rep.michael.lankford@capitol.tn.gov; rep.tom.leatherwood@capitol.tn.gov; rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov; rep.greg.martin@capitol.tn.gov; rep.jake.mccalmon@capitol.tn.gov; rep.larry.miller@capitol.tn.gov; rep.bo.mitchell@capitol.tn.gov; rep.jerome.moon@capitol.tn.gov; rep.jason.powell@capitol.tn.gov; rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov; rep.tim.rudd@capitol.tn.gov; rep.iris.rudder@capitol.tn.gov; rep.gabby.salinas@capitol.tn.gov; rep.todd.warner@capitol.tn.gov
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.
2 Responses
Let’s remember Dave Wright in District 19 and check to see whether Dave has a primary opponent after Noon on March 10th which is the filing deadline for state offices. If he does, we may just have another candidate in the August Republican primary who should receive our campaign contribution.
Thanx, emailed committee,
“PLEASE don’t kill this.
Any “Republican” against this is an accursed worse’n useless RINO.
We’re sick and tired of dimmercraps electing them.