The statue reads: (1) The voter is a bona fide member of and affiliated with the political p[arty in whose primary the voter seeks to vote; or (2) At the time the voter seeks to vote, the voter declares allegiance to the political party in whose primary the voter seeks to vote and states that the voter intends to affiliate with that party. (T.C.A. 2-7-115)
Davis has the case if he can show that 486 Democrats with known status in the Democratic Party crossed into the Republican Primary. The state of Tennessee does not have a mechanism in place,(states that the voter intends to affiliate) to administer the statue in question. Of course, there is no way to know how the Democrats voted when they raided the Republican Party primary. They could have voted for Davis, thereby sparing him a greater numerical defeat. So, should you dispose of the results and have a new election with this great unknown? The legal challenge is a good one and should have been resolved a long time ago, as crossovers have been going on for a long time. I remember the late Chancellor Dayton Phillips advising me to make a concentrated effort to obtain Democratic crossover votes in a Republican primary I was involved in. You have to feel for the Democrats, as the have been effectively disenfranchised in this House seat over the years. It is just natural to want to be a part of major decisions. A viable Democratic Party would provide a much better east Tennessee. That aside, it looks like Davis has the case and the opportunity to fix the problem.
Davis has the case if he can show that 486 Democrats with known status in the Democratic Party crossed into the Republican Primary. The state of Tennessee does not have a mechanism in place,(states that the voter intends to affiliate) to administer the statue in question. Of course, there is no way to know how the Democrats voted when they raided the Republican Party primary. They could have voted for Davis, thereby sparing him a greater numerical defeat. So, should you dispose of the results and have a new election with this great unknown? The legal challenge is a good one and should have been resolved a long time ago, as crossovers have been going on for a long time. I remember the late Chancellor Dayton Phillips advising me to make a concentrated effort to obtain Democratic crossover votes in a Republican primary I was involved in. You have to feel for the Democrats, as the have been effectively disenfranchised in this House seat over the years. It is just natural to want to be a part of major decisions. A viable Democratic Party would provide a much better east Tennessee. That aside, it looks like Davis has the case and the opportunity to fix the problem.
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