RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Changes could be coming to how Virginia conducts its primary elections.
A bill pre-filed ahead of the 2024 General Assembly session would add space on Virginia’s voter registration application for voters to choose which political party they affiliate with.
Additionally, parties would then have the option to restrict their primary to only voters registered with that party.
“A lot of party officials really push for closed primaries,” Randolph-Macon political science professor Rich Meagher said. “If you want to vote in a Republican primary, you should be a Republican. You should have to declare your party allegiance … that way, it keeps it in the family.”
Currently, Virginia holds open primaries, where voters have the option to choose which party’s primary they vote in.
“Sometimes, when there is an incumbent or when there is a chance to vote in the other party’s primary, there is some concern about cross-party voting,” Meagher said. “Democrats might go and vote for a Republican that they think is terrible with the hopes that he will win the primary, or she will win the primary, and then stand in the general election.”
The current system does give some voters in non-competitive districts a voice, Meagher said — something the proposed bill could change.
“Let’s say you are a Democrat and you live in a district where there is no Democrat running — you at least might have a say in who gets chosen in your district to run the Republican, because the Republican party is the only party in your district,” Meagher said. “Same thing in districts where the Democrats are the only game in town.”
The bill, should it pass, wouldn’t take effect until 2025, meaning it would not affect next year’s presidential primary elections.
