The Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would close primary races to registered party voters.
House Bill 541 by Representative Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, would require voters voting in a primary to register with the party of their choice, locking them in to vote in only that party’s primary. The individual could switch their party registration at any time up to 60 days before the next primary election.
The concept has gotten a big push recently with the backing of U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter and the Alabama Republican Party under new chair Scott Stadthagen.
Still, not all Republicans were on board with the bill, with six ultimately voting against the bill and four more abstaining.
“Unlike some folks in this body, I have a very purple district,” said Representative Philip Rigsby, R-Huntsville. “I have a district with a lot of independent voters. I feel like those independent voters, most of the time, don’t want to be affiliated or go on record with what party they are going to vote for.”
Democrats challenged the bill on the basis that it would still have the primaries administered by the state despite becoming, essentially, a party function.
“It appears the State of Alabama will be paying for the party primaries,” said House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels. “Is it the responsibility of the State of Alabama to foot the bill for the party’s actions?”
That’s in line with the stance of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, which has said counties want no part in administrating closed party primaries.
Representative Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, told lawmakers that the bill would lead to “lazy politics” where the most extreme candidates are selected.
“Y’all are trying to use the primary process to whittle down who’s eligible, so you can choose between the folks who want to be Republicans, and the folks who are dedicated to Donald Trump,” England said. “That is the whole process. And what you’re going to end up doing is encouraging these lazy politics and take a small percentage of the Republican Party for everyone to vote on in November.”
England said he ought to just “eat a bucket of popcorn and watch the show” as closed primaries lead to hard-line Republicans being nominated in purple districts and ultimately cost Republicans seats.
“You’re going to put somebody that is so far right and so disconnected from the general population in those areas that you’re likely going to lead to a Democrat being elected,” England said. “It’s like y’all don’t want to be in the supermajority; I don’t get it.”
The concerns about strategy extended to some Republicans.
When Representative Chris Blackshear, R-Auburn, asked Yarbrough about the purpose of the bill, Yarbrough responded with a football analogy.
“I would use the example I did before of a football team: when you lean more and more into the identity of who you are, not only is it clearly understood by those watching which team is what, it leads into more success.”
“If I’m the offensive coordinator though, I never run a play that I know I could potentially lose yardage on,” Blackshear said.
Blackshear pointed out the state has not had a Democrat governor since Don Siegelman in 2003, no Democrat to a statewide office since 2011 and has held a supermajority since 2010.
“What advantages do we get now by closing the primaries when it seems to me that we’ve been doing pretty good since 2010 in this state electing Republicans,” Blackshear said. “… We’re up 86-0.”
The issue is among the points of contention between the leading gubernatorial candidates for each party.
“Political primaries are funded by taxpayer dollars,” said Doug Jones, the likely Democratic nominee for governor. “Independent voters are not just important in general elections. They are an important constituency in primary elections as a moderating check on both political parties. This is especially significant in a state that is as politically gerrymandered as Alabama. If HB 541 passes the Senate and is signed into law, over 300,000 Alabamians will either have to face a choice: register with a political party or be denied the ability to vote in a taxpayer funded primary for President or any federal or state office. That is just plain wrong.”
