Voters are suing Tennessee state over 'bona fide" primary law. But aren't TN primaries open?

A state law passed last year is facing it's second legal challenge by the same group. Their mission: Ensuring all Tennessee voters can cast primary ballots for any party without fear of retribution.

Bipartisan voters across the state, the League of Women Voters of Tennessee and former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe are banning together to rid polling places of signs that require voters to be "bona fide" members of the party whose primary they're voting in.

Their first attempt, initiated in November, was dismissed days before Super Tuesday. Ashe, a former U.S. Ambassador to Poland, told the USA TODAY Network-Tennessee they addressed Judge Eli Robinson's reasons for dismissing the original suit in their second attempt. He was disappointed with the March dismissal, but feels more confident now.

The law that started it all

The law, passed in May 2023, requires polling places to inform voters that it is illegal to vote in a primary election without being a "bona fide" political party member.

What does 'bona fide' mean in Tennessee?

Good question. The law doesn't define "bona fide."

Signs in polling places say voting outside one's party is "punishable as a crime," but there's no determination of what that would look like, either.

The Knox County Elections Administrator told the USA TODAY Network-Tennessee in March that in order for a voter to be investigated over party membership, three poll workers would have to agree before the voter casts a ballot that the person is not a "bona fide" member of that party. Poll workers are a mix of Republicans and Democrats, and Davis said it would be difficult for workers to agree on a conclusion.

In literal terms, "bona fide" means "good faith" in Latin.

Ashe considers himself a "bona fide" Republican, having voted as a Republican his entire life. But he's often critical of members of the GOP in his weekly Knox News column.

"This new law, I find it rather shocking because it allows someone other than me to decide if I'm a bona fide member of the Republican Party," Ashe said in November. "What is a bona fide Democrat or Republican? It's not defined. How does a citizen obey the law?"

Wait, aren't Tennessee primaries open?

Yes. That means any voter can select any ballot at the polls. Voters can select different party ballots in different election years. This law does not change that, which is part of plaintiffs' case that it's meant to intimidate voters.

Gabe Hart, who lives in Jackson, said in a news release he was personally targeted after voting on Super Tuesday. He's since joined the lawsuit.

“I was told directly by my local DA that I should be concerned about being prosecuted. I was called a felon by a local elected official and I was otherwise worried about both voting and speaking my mind because of this law," Hart said. "My hope is that as a result of this lawsuit no other Tennessean has to go through what I've been through and we can all vote freely and without fear of reprisal."

Why are plaintiffs more confident this time around?

The original suit was shot down because plaintiffs were unable to prove the law confused any voters or suppressed turnout.

This time around, the plaintiffs are joined by voters who say were harmed by the law. In addition to Hart, voter James Palmer has joined the suit.

Palmer said in a release he didn't vote on Super Tuesday because he feared embarrassment. He's placed signs supporting Democratic candidates in his yard before, but planned to vote in the Republican primary before hearing about the new law.

The new suit also fixes some legal technicalities. The original suit listed only Secretary of State Tre Hargett as the defendant, though the new one adds all 32 of Tennessee's district attorneys. Ashe told Knox News that's in direct response to an aspect of the dismissal that said Hargett, as secretary of state, doesn't have authority to prosecute voters; the district attorneys do.

Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnewsws.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee sued over election law: What it could mean for primaries