Tenn. GOP votes against primary change

Leaders of the Tennessee Republican Party won’t push for changes in the state’s election laws, voting Saturday to keep the state’s open primary system.

Executive committee members voted 37-29 against a resolution that would have required voters to register with a party before they cast ballots in primaries, the Associated Press reported.

Proponents of a closed primary system say it would prevent those who belong to one political party from voting in another party’s primary contests.

Chris Devaney, chairman of the Tennessee GOP, supports open primaries and suggested the current system benefits Republicans.

“I don’t think that we would be here today with the supermajorities in the legislature, with all of our statewide officials Republican, if we did not have open primaries,” he said, according to The Tennessean.

Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker both issued statements to the newspaper indicating support for the state’s current open primary system, along with other state lawmakers.