OPINION: Tennessee primaries should stay open to all voters

Four years ago, sitting in the middle of Ayers Auditorium at Jackson State, I listened to several candidates answer questions about why they should be the next mayor of Madison County.

After about two hours, my personal choice was clear, but there was a catch: my preferred candidate was running on a Republican ticket which meant he would have to win the primary in order to advance to the general election.

As a voter who had leaned heavily left in nearly every national election cycle since 2004, I had to make a choice: vote in the Republican Primary or hope the man I wanted to represent my county made it to the general election in August.

 I decided my value as a tax-paying citizen trumped (no pun intended) any faux allegiance I had to either party, so I cast my ballot in the primary. Then all hell broke loose.

Without rehashing all the details, there was quite a bit of weeping and gnashing of teeth by certain members of the local Republican Party about my decision to vote in “their” primary.

Prosecution was threatened. The word “bona fide” was used frequently. Even Tre Hargett took some time to travel all the way to little ol’ Jackson to remind everyone what a felony was. 

Four years later, another local primary looms, but this time the drama has more to do with the “bona fideness” of certain candidates rather than the ideological purity of voters.

Before the primary season opens, however, I’d like to lay out a few reasons why open primary states are getting it right. 

• Fully Open Primaries Keep Candidates from Fringe Politics

When the R’s and D’s are removed from whatever political identities we’ve fostered for ourselves, I believe most Tennesseans (and Americans for that matter) aren’t that far apart. Most of what ends up separating us are talking points made by the most extreme politicians on either side of the aisle. Once those talking points make their way to social media, any nuance or depth of thought usually goes out the window. We’re left with reactive responses to counter attacks from the opposing side. 

Having fully open primaries keeps candidates from leaning heavily on the fringe issues that only a fraction of the voting base cares about. Open primaries also allow elected officials to  focus on the best ways to help all constituents regardless of party affiliation.

• Fully Open Primaries Increase Voter Turnout

Voter turnout continues to drop in Madison County, especially in cycles that don’t include a presidential election. This problem isn’t relegated only to Madison County. Turnout for the 2022 mid-terms in Tennessee was one of the lowest in the entire country. 

Because Tennessee is a mostly red state, many elections are decided in the primaries. In many cases, once the primary votes are counted, no opponent awaits the winner in local general elections. Of course, that affects who turns out to vote. If an election was already decided several months earlier, what’s the point?

• Fully Open Primaries Strip the Power from the Two Party System

Let’s be honest: this two party system ain’t workin’ so well right now. In fact, I would argue that Americans haven’t gotten what we've deserved at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave since 2016. 

Our political discourse is shallow and ragged. Our leadership in Washington has been atrocious for a while, but now borders on radical absurdity. On a national level, we are starved for common sense moderation - a moderation that seems to have disappeared at the state level in Tennessee, too. Primary elections must remain as open as possible because local government should be the last place partisan politics injects its toxicity. 

I realize that the arguments I’ve listed above are only my opinions. I also know a famous quote that people on the right have told me multiple times: “Facts don’t care about your feelings.” 

Fair enough. 

Here’s a fact: ALL TAXPAYERS PAY FOR PRIMARY ELECTIONS.

According to a few people on the local and state levels, primary elections in Tennessee are only open to “bona fide” members of a party based on  Tennessee Code Annotated § 2-7-115(c) which states:

“Any registered voter desiring to vote in a political party primary shall be required to state the voter’s political party affiliation at the time the voter presents to vote. A voter shall be entitled to vote in the primary of a political party if the voter is a bona fide member of and affiliated with that political party or declares allegiance to that political party and states an intention to affiliate with that political party.”

That’s a problem on multiple levels, but here are the most prominent:

1. The language in the law offers no qualitative explanation of the word “bona fide” for voters. We understand that parties have metrics to define “bona fide” candidates (voting in a party’s statewide primary 3 out of the 4 most recent elections), but does that apply to voters, too? If so, I guess I’m a “bona fide” Republican. 

2. “Pledging allegiance” to a party isn’t a blood oath. I know multiple people who have denounced their chosen party for the other or simply to be an Independent. Are those voters (myself included) excluded from an election that WE help fund?? 

The side of the aisle who seems most upset about an open primary is the same side that believes a tax payer’s money shouldn’t be wasted. In fact, taxpayers should get to choose how they can benefit from the taxes they pay. Isn’t that the main crux of the school choice argument? Educational freedom?

Well, I want my tax dollars to provide me with the freedom to choose the best candidate possible regardless of party affiliation. If that means voting in a specific primary to ensure that happens then I have that freedom. 

I haven’t decided the primary I’ll choose just yet. There are some competitive and intriguing races in both. My plan is to look at each race in each primary and choose the primary where my vote will matter the most for the future of my county and state. I encourage all registered voters to do the same. 

We are a Democratic Republic. We the people have the power to choose who represents us, not a party. I think it’s time we reclaim some of that power. 

Gabe Hart is an educator in Jackson and has written columns that have run in a number of news outlets at the local and statewide level.