The Independent View: Alabama GOP Wants Closed Primary Elections

Terri Lathan, Chair of the Alabama Republican Party explained why State GOP leaders want a "Closed Primary" in the future.

"We live in a very football-analogy state," Lathan said. "Can you imagine if the University of Alabama team got to pick the Auburn players? Or the Auburn coaches got to pick the Alabama players? The governor would have to call out the National Guard. It could be that serious."

The Alabama Republican Executive Committee passed a resolution last month calling for closed primaries. That resolution received 76 percent of the vote.

To change Alabama from an open primary state, where voters are offered a choice of either Democratic or Republican ballots when they arrive at the polls, to a closed primary state, the state legislature must pass a bill that Gov. Robert Bentley must sign into law.

Lathan said that State Sen. Tom Whatley, R-Auburn, has agreed to carry the bill in the Senate.

Nancy Worley, Chair of the Alabama Democrats, said that the language in a bill would be critical. Confusion over how the Primary process currently works in Alabama is not uncommon, she said. "I can see it being problematic to change the system at this point but, again, Republicans have never been known for wanting it to be easy for people to vote," she said. As for how the Alabama Democratic Party views the GOP proposal of closed primaries, Worley said it would be "presumptive" for her to speak on it because Democrats have never voted on the issue.

Voter participation in Republican primaries has sharply increased over the past 12 years, Lathan said, leading GOP leaders to believe that Democrats are actively crossing over into their rival primaries to affect the outcome.

In 2004, about 200,000 people voted in the Alabama Republican Primary, according to the Alabama Secretary of State's office. Two weeks ago, more than 850,000 people voted in the Alabama Republican Primary.

"There's a trajectory of going up, up, up here," Lathan said of voter participation. "And when that happens and you have such a dominate party, I believe party members are concerned that Democrats or people who aren't necessarily Republicans might come into our primary to either stack the deck against us or to run candidates that maybe might not can win either way. We want our teammates to pick our team."

Voters would have to declare themselves either Democrat or Republican in advance of a Primary election, which will next be held in 2018. That declaration would replace the choice you make now of choosing a primary in which to participate at your polling location.

Whatley has not yet filed his bill in the legislature.

Lathan said that a voter could still change their party affiliation but the final declaration would have to be made at a predetermined point before a Primary election, probably when voter registration closes 14 days before an election.

The resolution the State GOP approved at its Feb. 27 meeting was submitted by David Ozment, former Chair of the Cullman County Republican Executive Committee.

The resolution said that Democrats have run for office as Republicans and they vote in Republican primaries to support RINOs, Republicans in name only, who back Democratic agendas.

Lathan said there is also concern about Democrats, even after voting in their own Primary elections, voting in Republican run-off elections.

"We've just gotten to a point in Alabama that, especially a run-off, is where you can have tinkering done," she said. "So we do not want people from another party picking our team and I'm sure they wouldn't want us picking their team.