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Note from The Tennessee Conservative: Editorial statements in this column are the sole opinion of the author; they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff of this publication.
Submitted by Stephen G. Giraud –
Free, fair, and transparent elections are the bedrock of our constitutional republic. In Williamson County, voters take justifiable pride in civic participation. Yet a serious vulnerability continues to compromise the integrity of our local elections: unlawful crossover voting in primary elections.
Tennessee law is unambiguous on this matter. Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 2-7-115(b), voters seeking to participate in a political party’s primary election must meet a clear legal standard: they must be a bona fide member of, or affiliated with, that party, or declare allegiance to that party with the bona fide intent to affiliate with it.
The intent behind this statute is simple and vital: political parties – which are private organizations, have an associative right to select their nominees without interference or manipulation by members of opposing parties or other organizations. A primary election is not a general election free-for-all; it is the process through which a private political party decides who represents its principles on the ballot.
Unfortunately, official voting records reveal that this statute is being routinely disregarded. And the Republican party and individual citizens are voicing this concern more and more.
Earlier this summer, a small group of Williamson County citizens performed a deep study of the Williamson County voter rolls following the May 5, 2026 county primary election. Their methods consisted of searching the voting history of all Williamson County voters found in a county voter roll spanning a period of several elections along with extensive data analysis. (A voter roll can be purchased by any Williamson County citizen for $75.) What they found was troubling.
Multiple voters with established, in some cases, decade-long histories of voting exclusively in Democratic primaries crossed over to pull Republican primary ballots on May 5—only to immediately return to pulling Democratic ballots in the subsequent August 6, 2026 primary/general election.
Their voting history demonstrates that these voters, as evidenced by their voting records, did not cross over with an authentic intent to affiliate with or declare allegiance to the Republican Party. Instead, it appears to reveal tactical crossover voting — a practice where members of one party deliberately intervene in another party’s primary to influence the outcome, before immediately returning to their home party.
Even more disturbing is the fact that several of the individuals identified in these records serve as election workers for the Williamson County Election Commission — acting as Officers of Elections, registrars, and machine operators.
Election workers are entrusted with administering voting laws fairly, including ensuring that mandatory notices regarding T.C.A. § 2-7-115(b) about crossover voting are clearly displayed and understood at each vote center. When individuals responsible for upholding election laws appear to ignore them at their own ballot boxes, public trust in the administration of our elections is severely undermined.
Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 2-19-107, unlawful primary voting is not merely a technical oversight—it carries statutory penalties, including fines up to $1,000 upon conviction. Laws that are enacted by the General Assembly but ignored by local authorities cease to protect the public.
To ensure accountability, I have submitted a formal complaint detailing these findings to 21st Judicial District Attorney General Stacey Edmonson in Williamson County (WilCo), with copies provided to the leadership of both local political parties, as well as state and federal election integrity officials.
The process that I went through in submitting my complaint is worth noting. The WilCo DA’s office first instructed me to file with the county clerk, then I was told to file with the WilCo Sheriff’s office, then I was transferred to the Franklin Police Department, then back to the WilCo Sheriff’s office and then the Tennessee Secretary of State. After hitting one brick wall after another, I finally contacted Rep. Gino Bulso’s office to get guidance. One of his staff members contacted the Tennessee Secretary of State on my behalf, and was advised to submit the complaint to the WilCo DA—the place I originally started. Reporting documented allegations of violations of state law should not be this hard.
This is actually the third complaint of this nature, the first being submitted in May 2026 to Williamson County Election Commission officials by a Williamson County citizen and the second in June 2026 to DA Edmonson by another. As of today, neither complainant has received a response from either entity. And, unfortunately, a press release issued by the individual who submitted the complaint last June did not seem to prompt either the county election commissioner or the county DA to address the problem.
Several days ago, I received a phone call from a man who identified himself as Joe Ashmore, an investigator for the WilCo DA. He indicated he was looking into my complaint and asked me a number of questions, including my motivation for submitting it, which struck me as rather odd. My motivation is simply to uphold the law, protect citizens from those who blatantly disregard it and to hold them accountable. I imagine Mr. Ashmore chose his career path as an investigator for the DA out of similar motives to see our laws upheld.
It’s important for everyone to understand that this issue is not about partisan gamesmanship or silencing voters; it is about respecting the rule of law.
Every registered voter has the full right to participate in the general election and choose any candidate they prefer. But when it comes to party primaries, Tennessee law requires sincerity of affiliation. And that is mostly demonstrated by continually and sincerely voting for the affiliated party’s candidates and not crossing over to select the competitor’s candidates.
If we want Williamson County residents to maintain confidence in our electoral system, our laws must be enforced equally, consistently, and without exception. I believe Ms. Edmonson has a duty to thoroughly review these complaints and take appropriate action to protect our voting rights and uphold Tennessee election law.
As engaged citizens committed to upholding election integrity, we cannot and will not allow legitimate, well-documented complaints about intentional violations of state law by individuals who seek to manipulate our elections for their own purpose to go unchallenged.
Of course, the easiest resolution to ensure fair elections is for voters to simply obey the law and stop crossover voting in primaries.
About the Author: Stephen G. Giraud is a resident of Franklin, Tennessee.
2 Responses
Imagine witnessing someone getting mugged, coming to the victim’s aid, reporting the assailant to the police and then being asked about your motives for getting involved. Instead of thanking Mr. Giraud for his diligence and thoroughness in documenting alleged violations of state election law, the DA’s investigator asked about his motives for wanting to uphold the law. Wow. The process Mr. Giraud had to go through to submit his complaint is utterly absurd and seems designed to discourage citizens from getting involved. And to further illustrate what we are up against, several of the people identified in the records by Mr. Giraud apparently serve as election workers for the Williamson County Election Commission!
In the interests of full disclosure, I’m the person who submitted a crossover complaint (via email in June and hand delivered in July) to District Attorney Stacey Edmonson in Williamson County’s District 21. I’ve yet to hear anything, so at least he got a response.
This is an excellent op-ed, Mr. Giraud, and I appreciate your efforts to protect good-faith primary voters from those who willfully disregard state law by seeking to have a say in electing primary candidates from a party for which they do not belong or intend to affiliate. Marsha Blackburn has vocally supported closing primaries, so it will be interesting to see if she follows through if elected governor. It also will be interesting to see what other GOP representatives follow her lead in taking action to end illegal crossover voting in Tennessee primaries.
Sounds like Williamson County gubmint is infested with lucifer’s accursed dimmercraps/RINOs.