Tennessee GOP effort to require party registration fails in state House panel amid Republican opposition

The Tennessee House of Representatives meets on the opening day of the legislative session Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
The Tennessee House of Representatives meets on the opening day of the legislative session Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

NASHVILLE -- A Tennessee Republican Party effort to require voter registration by political party failed overwhelmingly in the committee Wednesday afternoon with a GOP majority of members joining minority Democrats in voting no.

The vote was 2-14 with ten Republicans, including Reps. Esther Helton of East Ridge, Ron Travis of Dayton and Rick Tillis of Lewisburg all voting no.

Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, was one of just two Republicans to vote in favor of the measure, sponsored by Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden. Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, one of only four committee Democrats, voted against it.

After Holt explained and defended the measure as committee members questioned the need for it, a committee member quickly moved the previous question on the bill to require an immediate vote. Holt told them he had only intended to discuss the bill and then delay the vote for two weeks.

Following the vote, Holt wryly said "thank you for the brisk debate. I enjoyed it."

He declined to discuss the committee action later with reporters, saying he wanted time to reflect on the panel's decision.

The bill would have required voters to register as a Republican, Democrat or independent.

Noting that any number of areas are largely Republican or Democratic and the party primary is the de facto general election, Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, said voters "want to choose who their elected officials are."

With some members charging that the bill would "disenfranchise voters," Holt sharply disagreed, saying "it's already in current code."

Carter argued "you must make a choice before you vote in a primary now. You got to pull that ballot. You have to announce I want a Republican ballot or I want a Democrat ballot. The choice is already there. The penalties are already there."

Under current law, voters at the time they go to vote in a primary effective declare their allegiance to the party. It's technically a crime to vote in a primary where the voter isn't a member of the party. But it's rarely enforced.

GOP State Executive Committee members wanted the legislation, complaining that Democrats were crossing over and voting and influencing Republican party primary elections.

But many Republican lawmakers and others, including current Gov. Bill Lee and his immediate predecessor Bill Haslam, had opposed it, citing Tennessee's rich tradition of cross over voting in party primaries.

They and others, including Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, say that tradition over the decades has helped turn the Republican Party into the dominant force it is today in Tennessee politics.

The Tennessee Democratic Party did not favor the bill either.

Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow on Twitter @AndySher1.

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