Hamilton County voters should not be fearful of facing jail or prison time for voting in a political party’s primary even if they are not a bona fide member, District Attorney Coty Wamp said.
“It’s my responsibility to uphold and enforce the law, but this is one that I’m not even sure would hold up in the court of law,” Wamp said by phone. “I have no desire to find that out through prosecution.”
Tennessee polling places are required for the first time this year to post signs at polling places for the March 5 primary election warning voters it is illegal for them to vote in a party’s primary if they are not a bona fide member of that political party.
Gov. Bill Lee signed the legislation requiring the signs last year, although the laws about primary election participation have not changed. Voters can select any party ballot when coming to the polls. Because the state does not require voters to register to vote in a political party, there is no defined mechanism in law to determine whether they are a member of a particular party.
It is a decades-old law that makes no sense, Wamp said. She said she didn’t know crossover voting — when members of one party vote in another party’s primary — was a crime until the signage requirement brought it to light.