Voters must “declare allegiance” to political party for primary voting

Voters heading to the polls for Tennessee’s primary elections will notice new language when they choose which party’s ballot to vote. The updated form now requires voters to declare allegiance to the party whose primary they are participating in. Local election officials say the wording does not change Tennessee’s open primary system. Tennessee does not register voters by party, and voters can still choose a different party’s primary ballot each time they vote. The change comes as a Republican-led effort to switch Tennessee to closed primaries, which would have required party registration, failed in the Tennessee House last week.