Voters ask a judge to stop a new Tennessee law from being enforced in the March primary

Tennessee voters are asking a federal judge to stop a new polling place law from going into effect before the next election on March 5.

Former Knoxville mayor Victor Ashe, the League of Women Voters and others filed an injunction Dec. 8 related to their lawsuit challenging a state law that requires a voter to be a “bona fide” member of a political party to vote in the primary election. The voters are trying to persuade the judge that the law is too vague and could be used against individuals that party leaders don’t like ‒ for any reason.

“In the next primary, plaintiffs will not be able to navigate how to vote without unreasonably risking prosecution. This will lead plaintiffs and others either to simply not vote or risk criminal prosecution for exercising their fundamental right to vote,” they argue in the new filing.

The law requires polling places to post signs informing voters it is illegal to vote in a primary election without being a “bona fide” member, but those details aren’t defined by the law. The law would come into play for the first time in the March 5 local and presidential primary election. The March 5 presidential primary is part of Super Tuesday, when voters in Tennessee, 14 other states and one territory will select more than one-third of Republican Party delegates.

Ashe told Knox News the ultimate goal of the lawsuit is to stop the law permanently. But since the legal process takes time, an injunction is the only way to ensure signs aren’t posted at polling places in March.

“We’re hopeful that the injunction will be issued,” he said, adding he wants people to feel comfortable and encouraged to vote in the March primary, which includes both important local races and the presidential candidate vote.

The lawsuit alleges there is no legal mechanism to determine a voter’s “bona fide” party credentials and the law could spark voter confusion. Tennessee does not require voters to register by political party, meaning voters choose at the polls what party primary ballot they prefer.

“In the current political climate ‒ where a single critique of a former president can subject even lifetime party stalwarts to derision as ‘RINOs’ (to use an example of a Republican term) and exile from party membership, and where state and nationwide parties often seek to expel their members for conduct having little to do with genuine belief in the party’s platform ‒ it is impossible for voters to have confidence that their ‘bona fides’ are sufficient to avoid prosecution come voting day,” the injunction says.

Along with Ashe, the League of Women Voters of Tennessee and Knoxville voter Phil Lawson filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville.

“This new law will have a chilling effect on Tennesseans exercising their right to vote and creates unnecessary confusion for voters,” Debby Gould, president of the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, said in a statement. “The League of Women Voters will continue to fight to ensure that all voters are empowered at the ballot box and can feel confident in their right to vote.” 

Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.

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