TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Mar 4, 2024

Election Day is tomorrow and across the state, voters will see signs at their polling place reminding them they must be a "bona fide" member of a political party in order to vote in that party's primary election, reports the Knoxville News Sentinel. Former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe, a Republican, sued the state along with Democrat Phil Lawson and the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, alleging that the signs are meant to intimidate and confuse voters. The suit claims that there is no legal mechanism to determine whether a voter has "bona fide" party credentials or not. Tennessee has open primary elections, which allow any voter to  select any ballot at the polls, including selecting different party ballots in different election years. Judge Eli Richardson dismissed the suit, writing that the plaintiffs' argument cannot be applied because they are unable to prove that the law actually confuses and suppresses voters.