Alabama GOP Chairman seeks to close state primaries | News | #republicans | #Alabama | #GOP

After a particularly eventful primary election season, Alabama GOP Chairman John Wahl has declared his intended efforts to have the state legislature adopt a “closed” primary election model rather than the current “open” system.

Under the current system voters are not required to register with either of the two major parties; but rather simply state which party’s primary they would like to participate in at the ballot box. Closing the primary would require voters to pre-register as either a Republican or as a Democrat before being allowed to cast their vote; leaving unregistered, third-party and independent voters effectively unable to participate in the primary election cycle.

This comes on the heels of what some GOP members feel was Democratic interference in the GOP primaries. State Representative Randall Shedd said that while he is hesitant to voice support for the effort before having a chance to closely examine the legislation, he understands his party’s concerns.

“I always take the position that you should read a bill before declaring support for it. But I understand the party’s frustration,” Shedd said.

Alabama State Senator Garlan Gudger is of the same mindset as Shedd, saying that he is planning to carefully examine any legislation that is presented.

“I think in theory this is a piece of legislation that can be very fragile and will require conversations with the Republican chair as well as the Democratic chair. We want to make sure that the elections are fair on both sides. I would definitely want to read the final bill; and any changes or amendments made to it, before casting a final vote to make sure that it doesn’t have any unintended consequences,” Gudger said.

Cullman County Republican Chairman Kelly Duke said that the local GOP party is hopeful to see the implementation of a closed primary.

“The only thing I would really say is that the local party is, and has been, in favor closed primaries. We hope it passes,” Duke said.

Proponents of closing the primary election are pointing to two instances where they feel like voters from outside the Republican party swayed elections.

In the Alabama State Senate race between incumbent Tom Whatley and Auburn councilman Jay Hovey, Whatley was defeated by a single vote. A vote which Auburn University Professor Anton DiSclafani — a self described “left-leaning” Democrat — is taking credit for. In an Op-Ed for The New York Times, DiSclafani claims that she participated in the Republican primary with the sole intention to vote against Whatley.

A tweet from former executive director of the Alabama Democratic Party praising Republican Senate candidate Katie Britt is also being viewed as bringing outside influence into her contest against Mo Brooks. Some GOP members view this as drawing Democratic favor to Britt, while others feel this may have been an effort to discredit her campaign and feed into criticisms claiming that Britt was a merely a Democrat in Republican clothing.

Alabama Libertarian Chair Gavin Goodman claims that under the current election system either of these attempts are completely legal methods to exercise one’s right to vote. In the instance of DiSclafani, he says that regardless of how she describes herself that “she was a Republican when she voted, and will remain one until November.”

Goodman also claims that it is misleading to describe the current system as an “open” primary, saying that current regulations are more of a hybrid, somewhere in between open and closed. This is due to fact that after declaring a party for the primary election voters are not allowed to participate in the other party’s run-off elections which follow.

A leading criticism of holding a closed primary election is the source of funding. Currently primary elections are funded through taxpayer funds much like November’s general election. Goodman feels that if a party wishes to close their primary elections, then that party should relieve its financial costs from the taxpayers and fund it through their party’s funds.

“I have no problem with a party deciding on how they choose their candidates. I think it’s fine if they want to close their primaries as long as they pay for it themselves,” Goodman said. “… if everyone is equally paying for the expense, then everyone should be able to participate,”

State Representative Corey Harbison said that this is a topic that he plans to follow as the upcoming spring legislative session approaches.

“I’m open to listening to whatever, I’ve not had an opportunity to look at the bill. What I would say is that primary elections are set up to be a way for each party to decide which candidates they want to send to the general election, but I think a good question is going to be is who funds it,” Harbison said.

Goodman says that his party holds its own form of a primary election free from taxpayer expense by holding a convention where party members come together and vote to decide on a candidate to represent them. When asked if this model would be feasible for the two larger political parties Goodman said that it is feasible, but would require creativity to recreate on a larger scale.

“I would say that the major parties already do some form of this every four years. They hold a national convention and delegates come together to decide on a presidential candidate,” Goodman said.

Critics are also weary of a closed system claiming that it only widens the divide between the political extremes. While there is no official information available as to how many third-party voters are in Cullman County, Joe Conkle, Chairman for the newly recognized Cullman County Libertarian Party, said that there are more than many people realize.

“I call them ‘Hank Jr. Republicans’, if they knew more about what the Libertarian Party stood for they would realize that’s how they feel. A lot of people are tired of making compromises and the duopoly of the two party system,” Conkle said.

Another question raised is what type of requirements the bill will have to claim a party, and what type of time-frame will voters be required to register leading up to elections. Shedd and Harbison both said that these are items within the bill that they will be looking if the effort moves through the legislative process.

“I think that the Republican Party wants to be inclusive for anyone who would like to join, we just don’t want to be controlled,” Shedd said.

Cullman County Democratic Chair Ernestine Linton did not answer requests for comment by deadline.