Former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe, voter Phil Lawson and members of the League of Women Voters of Tennessee have refiled their primary election federal lawsuit to correct some legal technicalities. Their mission remains the same: Ensuring all Tennessee voters can cast primary ballots for any party without fear of retribution.
The group says signs at primary election polling places telling voters they must be a “bona fide” member of a political party are designed to intimidate them. A new law doesn’t outline how voters can prove they belong to the party.
The original suit was dismissed days before the March 5 primary. Judge Eli Richardson wrote in the March 4 dismissal that the plaintiffs were unable to prove the law confused any voters or suppressed turnout.
This time around, the plaintiffs are joined by voters who say were harmed by the law.
Gabe Hart, who lives in Jackson, said in a news release he was personally targeted after voting on Super Tuesday.
“I was told directly by my local DA 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,” Hart said. “My hope is that as a result of this lawsuit no other Tennessean has to go through what I’ve been through and we can all vote freely and without fear of reprisal.”
His experience aligns with what Ashe worried could happen after the original suit was dismissed. He told Knox News he thought signs would deter voters from heading to the polls to publicly declare their party, which they must do to receive a ballot.
A law passed in 2023 requires polling places to have signs saying it’s illegal to cast a ballot in a partisan primary election without being a “bona fide” member of that political party. But the law doesn’t define what “bona fide” means.
Tennessee’s primary elections are open, meaning any voter can select any ballot at the polls. Voters can select different party ballots in different election years.
Knox County Elections Administrator Chris Davis told Knox News in March in order for a voter to be investigated over party membership, three poll workers would have to agree before the voter casts a ballot that the person is not a “bona fide” member of that party. Poll workers are a mix of Republicans and Democrats, and Davis said it would be difficult for workers to agree on a conclusion.
Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: [email protected] and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee voter intimidation lawsuit targets primary election law
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