The Tennessee Republican Party’s State Executive Committee voted to approve several election-related resolutions urging the 111th General Assembly to update the state’s election laws.
The party issued a statement about the resolutions over the weekend.
The GOP Executive Committee met Saturday. Resolutions included:
- Required Signatures for Public Office: This resolution asks the 111th General Assembly to increase the number of signatures required to run for public office to be equal to the level of office being sought.
- Timing for Special Elections: This resolution asks the 111th General Assembly to create a requirement for a special election to be called in the case of a vacancy within forty-five (45) days of the general election.
In other business, the Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee re-elected Scott Golden to his second two-year term as party chairman.
Also, the State Executive Committee passed a resolution urging the General Assembly to close the primaries to allow only registered party members.
Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden released the following statement on the resolutions:
These common-sense resolutions will help maintain the integrity of our elections and elect the best-qualified Republican candidates to federal, state, and local offices. We ask that the General Assembly consider and adopt the changes put forward by the State Executive Committee.”
The Tennessee Republican Party website is available here.
Back in April, the State Executive Committee removed eight candidates from the August 2 Republican Primary ballot for failing to qualify as “bona fide” Republicans as defined by party by-laws, The Tennessee Star reported at the time.
Seven of the candidates had filed petitions to run for the U.S. Senate; one had filed to run for governor.
Party by-laws require a candidate to have voted in three of four successive Republican Party primary elections, and/or provide additional evidence of service to the Republican Party in order to qualify.
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Tennessee Republican Party” by Tennessee Republican Party.
While we are improving things, let’s add a “None of the Above” box to the ballot for each race in the general election. Both major parties may present a reprehensible jerk as a candidate. Let’s also properly identify candidates of parties other than Democrat and Republican (Libertarian or Socialist, for example). It’s time for the rigged ballot to become a part of history.