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Committee advances bill to close primaries after debate over independents and party control
Summary
House Bill 541, which would require voters to be registered with a party to vote in that party’s primary, won a favorable report after proponents said it preserves party nominee selection and opponents warned it could disenfranchise independents and shift costs to local election officials.
A legislative committee advanced House Bill 541, a proposal to require voters to be registered with a party to vote in that party’s primary, after a roll-call vote during a session of the Ethics and Campaign Finance committee.
Representative Yro, who took the floor to introduce the measure, said the bill’s purpose is to ensure "parties choose their nominees based on their party members," arguing that party members should select nominees for local and state positions. She told the committee there are three ways to implement closed primaries and that most candidates qualify well before the 60-day window for changing party registration.
The measure drew sustained questioning from Representative Jackson, who asked…
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