The Tennessee State Senate on Tuesday advanced legislation, originally introduced last year, that would require voters to formally declare their political party affiliation or register as unaffiliated to participate in primary elections. This would effectively prevent an unaffiliated voter from casting a primary ballot in contests created to determine Democratic or Republican nominees.
Senate Bill (SB) 777, introduced as a caption bill last year by State Senator Adam Lowe (R-Calhoun), would amend Tennessee’s voter registration form to require citizens to indicate their affiliation with the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, a recognized third party, or as an unaffiliated voter.
Under the amended legislation, new voters would designate their voter affiliation during registration, while voters who are already registered can either designate their preferred party during normal registration time, or else during their next vote in a primary election.
Voters would be prohibited from changing their voter registration within 90 days of the primary, preventing partisan crossover voting and primary raiding without at least three months of planning.
Though Lowe’s bill failed in the Senate State and Local Government Committee in April 2025, it has since accrued seven sponsors and was advanced by the same committee on Tuesday in a 6-3 vote. It will now go to the State Senate Finance, Ways, and Means committee for review.
In the other chamber of the Tennessee General Assembly, lawmakers last took action on House Bill (HB) 886, introduced by State Representative Chris Todd (R-Madison County), in March 2025, when it was advanced to the House Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee. It has yet to receive a hearing, though the legislation has amassed more than 30 sponsors.
Crossover voting has drawn nationwide criticism in recent years, including in Tennessee during the 2024 primary elections for the General Assembly, when former State Representative John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge) claimed Democratic crossover votes contributed to his primary loss and unsuccessfully challenged the election results with the state party.
President Donald Trump also accused Democrats of crossing over to vote against him in the Republican presidential primary held in New Hampshire, and previously backed efforts to close primary elections in Wyoming.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Voter Registration” by Lorie Shaull. CC BY 2.0.
In my opinion, this legislation is absolutely needed. The local Rotary Club should not be allowed to vote to choose the local Lions Club officers—so to speak. And vice versa. (No offense intended to local Rotarians—I was one myself—nor to local Lions.)