Virtual Discussion: A Super Minority Elects the Super Majority in Tennessee

Tennessee Capitol
Photo by Brent Moore on Flickr
Published: 19 Aug, 2024
Updated: 18 Jun, 2025
3 min read

Photo Credit: Brent Moore / Flickr

 

Tennessee technically has open primaries in which party registration is not required to participate. However, it would be hard to tell under current state law.

In 2023, state lawmakers passed a law that made it a criminal offense to vote in a party's primary if a voter is not a ""bona fide" member of that party.

The thing is, there is no clear legal definition to what "bona fide" means or who exactly determines it or under what circumstances is challenging a vote appropriate.

Instead, when Tennessee voters went to the polls on primary election day this year, they saw this:

TN Voter Sign

It is a form of voter intimidation tacked onto a system that already leaves many independent voters feeling voiceless and powerless. 

IVP Donate

Chloe Akers, Founder and CEO of The Best Tennessee, joined Open Primaries President John Opdycke in a recent virtual discussion to talk about the challenges independent voters face in Tennessee.

The conversation was a part of Open Primaries' ongoing series, The Primary Buzz. 

"We don't have an amplification problem [in Tennessee]. We have an accountability problem," Akers said. "How can the middle majority of Tennesseans hold lawmakers accountable?"

She added that this was ultimately what led to the creation of The Best Tennessee, mobilizes independent voters and educates them on the importance of voting in primary elections.

Especially since primary elections are the most consequential elections in Tennessee.

"The general elections in Tennessee are largely uncompetitive," Akers said. "This is not a feeling. This is not a sentiment. This is data driven."

She explained that over the last decade the composition of the state House has changed by two seats. In that same time, the state Senate has only changed by one seat.

The elections that have the most impact on holding lawmakers accountable are the primaries, which is the case in every state in the US.

Let Us Vote : Sign Now!

However, Akers said that on average less than 22% of voters participate in primary elections -- meaning even less of the eligible electorate decide the outcome.

"What we have in this state is a super minority electing a super majority of our representatives," she said.

And when a super minority elects most public officials, the incentive is to appeal and govern for the minority, not the electorate at-large.

During the virtual conversation, Akers discussed her group's comprehensive approach to shifting the incentives by turning out independent voters in the primaries.

Not all the data points are available from the August 1 primaries. However, Akers said her group can point to success stories after one primary cycle.

Even as they have to contend with partisan laws to suppress the independent vote.

"One of the challenging elements in Tennessee is we are technically an open primary -- but not entirely," she explained. 

"Technically what our laws say is not that you can vote in the primary for any party you feel like in any given time," she added.

More Choice for San Diego

"What the law says is you are allowed to vote in the primary for the party that you are either a 'bona fide' member of or affiliated with at the time you go to vote." 

The law does not define what "bona fide" means, thus when people see signs that say they could be charged with a crime for voting, it is confusing and intimidating.

Akers said:

"One of the things we are attempting to do that is very hard is explain that to the extent that it has acted as a barrier" to "getting people involved in the primary."

She added that her organization is helping people overcome the confusion and navigate the system but will also watch the legislature for efforts to outright close the primaries.

Check out the full conversation above. 

Related articles

Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read
A man filling out his election ballot.
Oregon Activist Sues over Closed Primaries: 'I Shouldn't Have to Join a Party to Have a Voice'
A new lawsuit filed in Oregon challenges the constitutionality of the state’s closed primary system, which denies the state’s largest registered voting bloc – independent voters – access to taxpayer-funded primary elections. The suit alleges Oregon is denying the voters equal voting rights...
01 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Picture of skyscraper in New York behind a bridge.
Knives Come Out Against Reform at NYC CRC Hearing as Independents Rise
Last week in Staten Island, the NYC Charter Revision Commission held its next-to-last public hearing. As Commissioner Diane Savino commented, addressing NYC's closed primary system “is the single biggest issue we’ve heard this year.”...
30 Jun, 2025
-
3 min read

Latest articles

CA capitol building dome with flags.
Why is CA Senator Mike McGuire Trying to Kill the Legal Cannabis Industry?
California’s legal cannabis industry is under mounting pressure, and in early June, state lawmakers and the governor appeared poised to help. A bill to freeze the state’s cannabis excise tax at 15% sailed through the State Assembly with a unanimous 74-0 vote. The governor’s office backed the plan. And legal cannabis businesses, still struggling to compete with unregulated sellers and mounting operating costs, saw a glimmer of hope....
03 Jul, 2025
-
7 min read
I voted buttons
After First RCV Election, Charlottesville Voters Back the Reform: 'They Get It, They Like It, They Want to Do It Again'
A new survey out of Charlottesville, Virginia, shows overwhelming support for ranked choice voting (RCV) following the city’s first use of the system in its June Democratic primary for City Council. Conducted one week after the election, the results found that nearly 90% of respondents support continued use of RCV....
03 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read