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Currently, any Texas voter can cast a ballot in GOP primaries. The party wants to limit eligibility to registered members.
The Republican Party of Texas filed a lawsuit against Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson on Thursday in a bid to restrict participation in the GOP’s primary elections to only voters registered with the party.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court, claims Texas’ open primaries violate the Republican Party’s First Amendment associational rights to choose party leaders. The GOP said in its suit that it would prefer the Legislature to pass a law allowing only registered party members to vote in primary elections, but that it could not wait for lawmakers to act.
“[G]iven the steps necessary to transition to a fully closed primary in an orderly fashion, the Party cannot continue to wait and risk further political inaction and delay that could lead to open primaries (or even a bridge election) in 2028 as well,” the lawsuit read.
The Secretary of State’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Given that you can only vote in one primary anyway, what does it matter? I’m heavily progressive and always vote as such in the general election, but I would always vote in the Republican primaries to help influence the group that would (sadly) ultimately win. It was one of the few ways I could make a difference in Texas.
Given that they can’t tell me how to vote in the general, I’m trying to see what this gives? More ammo for gerrymandering?
If I were more conspiratorial, the idea of getting Democrats/non-Republicans on a register or rather mark them as exempt from one might start rustling my Jimmies. That said, I think this maneuver is designed to ensure the party continues to coalesce even further to the right.
First of all the fact that they want it should be a big hint shouldn’t it?
At what? That’s what I’m trying to figure out.
Limiting who is allowed to vote at all.
what does it matter?
You’ve answered it yourself.
I’m heavily progressive and always vote as such in the general election, but I would always vote in the Republican primaries to help influence the group that would (sadly) ultimately win.
They don’t want you to be able to, because
It was one of the few ways I could make a difference in Texas.
And that can’t let anybody who is not them have a chance to make a difference, because once you get a large population their ideas are very unpopular and don’t win out democratically.
But what I’m saying is there is absolutely nothing preventing me from registering to vote in the Republican primaries and then turning around and voting for a democrat in the general. Literally been doing that for decades.
Why waste time changing the rules to limit who can declare affiliation (there is no party affiliation on voter registration in Texas) until they know the can close their primaries? I think this is just phase 1, collect underpants. We don’t know what phase 2 will be, but we can rest assured that phase 3 is profit [for the rich].
In Texas of all places this will not backfire in any way if the controlled opposition party were to register as Rs to attempt to control the primary and in so doing mask the true extent of Ds across the state thereby hampering abilities to exclude large concentrations of Dem voters by map redraws.
You have to think there’s other steps to plan though. Maybe requiring large annual donations to be a member of the party. Maybe some hair brain scheme where they get to see how you vote. Something. There’s no way they’re stopping here.
