Early Voting for Tennessee’s first primary election of 2026 is upon us and there’s a bill making its way through the committees which seems to put Republicans passionately on both ends of the spectrum regarding whether or not these elections should be closed to party “members” or open to anyone.
HB886/SB777 would essentially make our primary elections closed to anyone that’s not “affiliated” with the Party who is selecting their candidate.
As of current law, it is illegal for someone to knowingly vote in another party’s primary. Some would say this means that our state already functions as a “closed party” state and does not need any further legislation to say otherwise.
However, people “cross-over” vote across our state all the time and unless a District Attorney decides to act on a voter who chose to vote for the other party, there is no consequence for breaking the law.
In every voting location across the state, the local election commission is required to post the following statement:
“It is a violation of Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-7-115(b), and punishable as a crime under Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-19-102 or Section 2-19-107, if a person votes in a political party’s primary without being a bona fide member of or affiliated with that political party, or to declare allegiance to that party without the intent to affiliate with that party.”
Voters who want to see a closed primary system would say there is no way to verify that a person affiliates with a political party or that a person has changed their mind because of a change in conviction rather than to influence an election.
Political parties are private organizations. The United States has a two-party system, you can identify with another party, platform or leader, but at the end of the day, either a Republican or a Democrat is going to get elected unless things change.
The primary election is an opportunity for both parties to choose who their candidate will be to compete for the majority vote in their race. Regardless of whether it’s small-town, rural East Tennessee or downtown Memphis, this is how every election in the United States works.
Some believe the closed primary system disenfranchises independent voters. Those who choose not to affiliate with the Republican or Democrat parties are forfeiting their right to choose the candidate to represent the Party.
A candidate is supposed to honor the party platforms. In Tennessee, we have Guiding Principles which our state’s GOP provides, in addition to the Republican Party Platform. The Democratic party does not necessarily have a list of principles, but their website clearly states their mission here in Tennessee, in addition to their own party platform.
The party primary is an opportunity for those who agree with the party platforms, to choose a candidate they feel will uphold those principles practically.
An independent voter chooses not to affiliate themselves with either party platform, and therefore cannot choose who would best represent those.
HB866/SB777 would provide accountability for voters and the election commission, that only those who choose to support either the Republican or Democratic party platforms are voting to elect their candidates.
Another argument to the closed primary conversation is that it allows the state to regulate the elections of private organizations. At this point, the state prohibits the ability for local counties to hold a “caucus” to elect their candidates, where they could control who is allowed to participate in the election, with just a handful of exceptions. HB855/SB799 was passed into law just last year, once conservatives started ‘flipping’ local GOP’s and realized they could hold a caucus to choose their candidates, rather than even participate in a primary election.
Is a closed party system perfect? No. Is an open party system perfect? No.
But when local elections are won due to a candidate seeking votes from the other party because they know they can’t win votes from within their own party, we have a problem.
Across the state, local elections are sometimes won by very small margins. Some candidates play this to their advantage, knowing they can “go to the other side” and garner votes so they can become their party’s candidate. Some Republican candidates prefer to remain moderate, so they can attract Democrat voters, and we see how that plays out everyday in the legislature.
If a Democrat or Republican has to leave their party platform in order to gain votes, should they be the ones representing the electorate?
Another option our state could consider is what’s called a “semi-closed” or “hybrid” primary system, where Republicans and Democrats still must vote within their party lines, but independent or unaffiliated voters are allowed to choose from either. There are at least 10 states who have set this up.
If we look back to our Founders, perhaps the most famous farewell address given by any President, George Washington stated “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
Our country is so divided and fractured, I’m not sure we will ever not have a two-party system, or even a third way at some point, so for now we have to decide how to best ensure election integrity across the state and continue to work towards making Tennessee conservative.
Closed vs. Open Primaries, A Debate Among Conservatives
Early Voting for Tennessee’s first primary election of 2026 is upon us and there’s a bill making its way through the committees which seems to put Republicans passionately on both ends of the spectrum regarding whether or not these elections should be closed to party “members” or open to anyone.
HB886/SB777 would essentially make our primary elections closed to anyone that’s not “affiliated” with the Party who is selecting their candidate.
As of current law, it is illegal for someone to knowingly vote in another party’s primary. Some would say this means that our state already functions as a “closed party” state and does not need any further legislation to say otherwise.
However, people “cross-over” vote across our state all the time and unless a District Attorney decides to act on a voter who chose to vote for the other party, there is no consequence for breaking the law.
In every voting location across the state, the local election commission is required to post the following statement:
“It is a violation of Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-7-115(b), and punishable as a crime under Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-19-102 or Section 2-19-107, if a person votes in a political party’s primary without being a bona fide member of or affiliated with that political party, or to declare allegiance to that party without the intent to affiliate with that party.”
Voters who want to see a closed primary system would say there is no way to verify that a person affiliates with a political party or that a person has changed their mind because of a change in conviction rather than to influence an election.
Political parties are private organizations. The United States has a two-party system, you can identify with another party, platform or leader, but at the end of the day, either a Republican or a Democrat is going to get elected unless things change.
The primary election is an opportunity for both parties to choose who their candidate will be to compete for the majority vote in their race. Regardless of whether it’s small-town, rural East Tennessee or downtown Memphis, this is how every election in the United States works.
Some believe the closed primary system disenfranchises independent voters. Those who choose not to affiliate with the Republican or Democrat parties are forfeiting their right to choose the candidate to represent the Party.
A candidate is supposed to honor the party platforms. In Tennessee, we have Guiding Principles which our state’s GOP provides, in addition to the Republican Party Platform. The Democratic party does not necessarily have a list of principles, but their website clearly states their mission here in Tennessee, in addition to their own party platform.
The party primary is an opportunity for those who agree with the party platforms, to choose a candidate they feel will uphold those principles practically.
An independent voter chooses not to affiliate themselves with either party platform, and therefore cannot choose who would best represent those.
HB866/SB777 would provide accountability for voters and the election commission, that only those who choose to support either the Republican or Democratic party platforms are voting to elect their candidates.
Another argument to the closed primary conversation is that it allows the state to regulate the elections of private organizations. At this point, the state prohibits the ability for local counties to hold a “caucus” to elect their candidates, where they could control who is allowed to participate in the election, with just a handful of exceptions. HB855/SB799 was passed into law just last year, once conservatives started ‘flipping’ local GOP’s and realized they could hold a caucus to choose their candidates, rather than even participate in a primary election.
Is a closed party system perfect? No. Is an open party system perfect? No.
But when local elections are won due to a candidate seeking votes from the other party because they know they can’t win votes from within their own party, we have a problem.
Across the state, local elections are sometimes won by very small margins. Some candidates play this to their advantage, knowing they can “go to the other side” and garner votes so they can become their party’s candidate. Some Republican candidates prefer to remain moderate, so they can attract Democrat voters, and we see how that plays out everyday in the legislature.
If a Democrat or Republican has to leave their party platform in order to gain votes, should they be the ones representing the electorate?
Another option our state could consider is what’s called a “semi-closed” or “hybrid” primary system, where Republicans and Democrats still must vote within their party lines, but independent or unaffiliated voters are allowed to choose from either. There are at least 10 states who have set this up.
If we look back to our Founders, perhaps the most famous farewell address given by any President, George Washington stated “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
Our country is so divided and fractured, I’m not sure we will ever not have a two-party system, or even a third way at some point, so for now we have to decide how to best ensure election integrity across the state and continue to work towards making Tennessee conservative.
Like this article?
Anne Lowery
Anne Lowery