Collegiate Times

In opening this column, I have to give thanks to the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) for providing today's material. It seems that in addition to losing one chamber of the General Assembly, the RPV is becoming paranoid about the upcoming presidential primary.

Virginia is an open-primary state. This means that when you register to vote, you do not list an affiliation with any political party. When the primary election rolls around, you simply walk into the polling place, say "Republican" or "Democrat," take the ballot and vote. You cannot vote in both parties' primaries at the same time, but you can switch from year to year without filling out any paperwork.

Recently, the RPV asked the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) to add a loyalty pledge to the upcoming presidential primary ballot. Voters would have to sign this pledge in order to vote in the Republican primary in Virginia.

The text of the pledge reads as follows: "I, the undersigned, pledge that I intend to support the nominee of the Republican Party for President."

The tricky part is the use of the word "intend." A voter may intend to vote for the Republican nominee in February, but may have changed his or her mind by November. And since we still have the secret ballot, the pledge is completely unenforceable. This pledge would be no problem for those who unconditionally tow the party line. However, even though it is nonbinding, the presence of such a pledge could prove to be intimidating for voters who do not always vote Republican.

Given the rising popularity of maverick congressman Ron Paul's (R-Texas) run for the White House, a great number of non-republicans may consider voting in the GOP primary. This is a practice known as "crossover voting".

Of course, I cannot say for certain what the true motivation for the loyalty oath was, and it is now a moot point: the RPV recently rescinded its request for the loyalty pledge to be placed on the ballot.

So for the time being, non-party liners can participate in the Virginia GOP primary without feeling like they're obligated to vote Republican in the future.

It is interesting to note that while the RPV ultimately decided against a loyalty pledge, the group's Web site still stresses its commitment to closed primaries. Assuming the General Assembly passed such a law, voters would be required to list a party affiliation on their registration and then could only participate in that party's primary. On one hand, I can see the argument for closing primary elections. Political parties are private groups of people who consensually associate for some common purpose. Like any other private organization, they have the right to set their own rules of conduct.

Members who do not like the rules are free to try to change them, or failing that, leave at any time.

So from the standpoint of free association, I empathize with a political party only allowing its members to choose their candidate. If signing some sort of pledge is required for membership, then so be it.

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