Bill To Transfer Secretary Of State Power To State Party Chair Heads To House Committee

Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –

This week, a bill that would transfer a power never wielded before by a state political party’s chair will be heard before the House Local Government Committee.

HB772 / SB1182 sponsored by Representative Tim Rudd (R-D34-Murfreesboro) and Senator Art Swann (R-D2-Maryville) as introduced, requires election officials to inspect filings for sufficiency and timeliness; establishes conclusive presumption that accepted filings are sufficient and timely filed. – Amends TCA Title 2.

The bill on its face is innocuous. It’s what is called a caption bill, which carries a caption broad enough to cover any number of legislative topics, and almost certainly more or different topics than what the bill appears to address on the surface. In other words, as long as an amendment has some relationship to the caption text that anchors it, there can be all kinds of things hidden within amendments that can entirely change the purpose and intent of the bill. 

Such is the case with HB772. 

Our current law reads as such: “The names of candidates for president of the United States shall be printed on the ballot for the presidential preference primary only if they are: The names of persons whom the secretary of state, in the secretary of state’s sole discretion, has determined are generally advocated or recognized as candidates in national news media throughout the United States.”

If HB772 and its companion bill passes, the language of the law will dramatically change, conveying this power to the chairperson of a statewide political party. It will read as follows: “The names of candidates for president of the United States shall be printed on the ballot for the presidential preference primary only if they are: The names of persons for whom the chair of a statewide political party has certified to be placed on the ballot for the office of president of the United States to the secretary of state.”

There are several concerns with this change. 

First, under section 1 to the amendment, there is no objective criteria for the party chair to use as a standard to certify the candidate. It is entirely arbitrary and falls to the discretion of that individual. 

This is troublesome because the current republican rules in the state of Tennessee are based on a person’s “bona fide “status within the party.  The criteria being used for a Tennessee election and what is required to participate in it, cannot be fairly applied to a candidate that comes from outside the state.  

Additionally, allowing a party chair to be the sole arbiter of decisions like this, can game the system against Republican candidates at the local level. In other words, crossover voting. For example, the Tennessee Democratic Party Chair could remove any presidential opponents to Joe Biden in March 2024. This would give very liberal Democrats the freedom to crossover and vote in the county Republican primary since they do not have a competitive presidential primary. 

Conversely, it could also enable The Tennessee Republican Party Chair the opportunity to bar more populist candidates like President Trump, or Governor DeSantis (should he announce a run) and include more establishment candidates like Nicky Hailey or former Vice President Mike Pence. 

Tennessee Republicans used related tactics during the elections in 2022.

Finally, many believe the amendment sets a bad public policy precedent. If sole discretion is given to the state political party chairs for presidential elections, then it could eventually extend to other elections for other seats, state, county, and city if they are partisan elections.

Please contact the Representatives below and tell them to respectfully remove Section 1 of the amendment to HB772/SB1182.

Rep. John Crawford (R) -Chair – rep.john.crawford@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7623

Rep. Dave Wright (R) – Vice Chair – rep.dave.wright@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6879

Rep. Rebecca K. Alexander (R) – rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2251

Rep. Jeff Burkhart (R) – rep.jeff.burkhart@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6804

Rep. Dale Carr (R) – Chair – rep.dale.carr@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-5981

Rep. Clay Doggett (R) – rep.clay.doggett@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7476

Rep. Michael Hale (R) – rep.michael.hale@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2192

Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes (R) – rep.esther.helton@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1934

Rep. John B. Holsclaw (R) – rep.john.holsclaw@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7450

Rep. Harold Love, Jr. (D) – rep.harold.love@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3831

Rep. Greg Martin (R) – rep.greg.martin@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2548

Rep. Sam McKenzie (D) – rep.sam.mckenzie@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-0768

Rep. Larry Miller (D) – rep.larry.miller@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4453

Rep. Jerome Moon (R) – rep.jerome.moon@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-5481

Rep. Kevin D. Raper (R) – rep.kevin.raper@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1350

Rep. Jay D. Reedy (R) – rep.jay.reedy@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7098

Rep. Tim Rudd (R) – rep.tim.rudd@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2804

Rep. Johnny Shaw (D) – rep.johnny.shaw@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4538

Rep. William Slater (R) – rep.william.slater@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2534

Rep. Robert Stevens (R) – rep.robert.stevens@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3830

Rep. Dwayne Thompson (D) – rep.dwayne.thompson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1920

About the Author: Kelly Jackson is a recent escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers. She has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member.  Outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.