On March 3, seventeen Alabama representatives, all Republicans, introduced HB 541. It mandates closed primaries, and does not give a party the option to let independents vote in its primary. It also sets very restrictive for voters to enroll in parties. They could register into a party that is entitled to its own primary. Thus, even if a new party got on the ballot, no one could register into it until after it had polled 20% of the vote for a statewide office. See page six of the bill.

The House Committee on Ethics and Campaign Finance heard the bill on March 11. See this story.

Courts in Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma have ruled that it violates the First Amendment to forbid a voter from registering into an unqualified party.