Shawn Griffiths
Photo Credit: Yunus Tug / Unplash+
A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by the League of Women Voters (LVW) of Tennessee and a bipartisan group of voters that challenged a 2023 law that some plaintiffs said intimidated them out of voting in the August primaries.
In 2023, Tennessee lawmakers passed a law that made it a criminal offense for anyone who is not a "bona fide" member of a political party to vote in that party's taxpayer-funded primary elections.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the law assert that it does not create a legal definition of what "bona fide" means or how that can be determined or enforced in the primary process.
Instead, voters were left confused by signs at polling locations during primary voting that looked like this:
Tennessee is technically an open primary state. Voters are not required to register with a party. However, state law does require voters to have allegiance to a party at the time they vote.
The 2023 law says voters who are not a "bona fide" member of one of two major parties can be prosecuted with a criminal misdemeanor or even a felony depending on the case.
“This law has discouraged Tennesseans from voting and will continue to cause unnecessary confusion for voters who rely on the League's nonpartisan voter information for clear guidance,” LVW of Tennessee President Debby Gould has previously stated.
Plaintiffs maintain that it goes beyond confusion and say the law is an intimidation tactic targeted at independent voters and "swing voters."
"After being targeted for voting in a primary for someone I've known since childhood, I feel strongly that this law is simply meant to intimidate voters and suppress the vote in Tennessee," said Tennessee voter and plaintiff Gabe Hart.
He added:
“I was told directly by my local D.A. that I should be concerned about being prosecuted; I was called a felon by a local elected official; and I was otherwise worried about both voting and speaking my mind because of this law."
Other plaintiffs had similar stories, including James Palmer who is the chair of an Industrial Development Board in Roane County. Palmer wanted to vote in the 2024 GOP primary but has supported Democrats in the past.
According to the lawsuit, he did not want to risk public embarrassment if someone challenged his right to vote.
Judge Eli Richardson ruled Monday that plaintiffs did not have standing in the case, and even if they did, the secretary of state and attorney general are entitled to "sovereign immunity."
Sovereign immunity is a legal doctrine that essentially protects government officials from lawsuits that do not have their consent.
According to inside sources, it is unclear right now what the LVW of Tennessee's next steps will be. There are a number of options to consider, or the group could drop the case entirely.
Stay tuned for further developments in this story. Special thanks to Jeremy Gruber at Open Primaries for providing updates.