The Kentucky Senate State and Local Government Committee holds a hearing on Wednesday, January 13, on SB 53. The bill requires political parties that hold primaries to let independent voters vote in those primaries. In Kentucky, only parties that polled at least 20% of the last presidential vote are entitled to primaries. Parties that polled at least 2% for President, but under 20%, nominate by convention. The bill doesn’t have any provision about parties that nominate by convention.
I was once told by a county clerk (and gubernatorial candidate) that the Reform Party once received enough votes to be recognized as a qualified party, but they purposely didn’t tell the Party that because of all the hassles, the feeling that the Party could not find enough poll workers, etc.
I believe that this bill is unconstitutional. The US Supreme Court, in Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut, empowered parties to invite independents to vote in their primaries.
Arizona mandates that independents vote in party primaries. In 2007, a US district court exempted the Libertarians from this law, but the two major parties have never filed suit against it.
Nebraska mandates that independents vote in party primaries for the US Congress. To my knowledge, these are the only two instances in which states force parties to let independents vote in their primaries.
“The bill doesn’t have any provision about parties that nominate by convention.”
Are there any states in which registered independents are permitted to serve as delegates to party conventions?
Current law requires a party switch before December 31, in order to vote in the June primary, and this is not changed under SB 53. So it appears if a voter switched from the Bourbon Party to independent they may vote in the Thoroughbred primary, but instead if they had actually re-registered in the Thoroughbred Party (after the deadline) they could not vote in any party primary.