On September 13, the Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee voted to invalidate the results of the August primary in the 22nd State Senate district, on the grounds that Republican Party sympathizers may have altered the outcome of that primary.
At the August primary, the vote had been very close. Incumbent Democratic Senator Rosalind Kurita defeated Tim Barnes by only 19 votes. Research showed that more than 700 voters in that primary were people who had chosen to vote in the Republican primary in each of the previous seven election years. Tennessee, like most states in the south, does not have registration by party. Instead, Tennessee has an open primary, in which any voter is free to choose any party’s primary ballot.
Normally no one would have done the research about who voted in a party primary, but Democratic Party officials were hostile to Senator Kurita because she had voted for a Republican, instead of a Democrat, to lead the State Senate last year. If Senator Kurita sues to overturn the ruling, the lawsuit will be a milestone in determining the power of political parties to control their own nominations procedure. Thanks to Clifford Thies for this news.
Is that not changing the rules of the game after the game has already been played? How can the Democratic Party have an open primary (with no party registration in the state, to boot) and then invalidate the results because people who were eligible (twice) to vote actually voted? Why even have a primary election?
We certainly are not in Kansas anymore on this one!
Nominations are PUBLIC business by PUBLIC electors.
Since when do party hack subgroups of ALL electors have some sort of special right to control whatever in PUBLIC business.
See the old Texas White Primary cases — NO blacks allowed to vote in such primaries — blown away by the courts.
SCORE ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF THE UN DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
Tennessee Democratic Party to voters: Screw you! We’ll do what we want.