TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Bill Could Require New Signage at Polling Places

Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Apr 5, 2023

A bill is advancing in the state legislature that would require every polling place in Tennessee to display signs saying it is a crime to vote in a primary without being a bona fide party member. Tennessee currently has open primaries; voters aren’t required to register with a political party in order to vote, leaving it to voters to self-declare their party affiliation and vote in the primary of their choosing. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, said the intent of the bill (SB0978/HB0828) is to “remind people they have to vote in the proper political party that they’re in.” Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, noted the state does not require any formal party registration in order to vote in primaries and such signage could serve to wrongly signal to voters that they had failed to take a necessary step before voting. The Tennessee Lookout has the full story.

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