Senator Obenshain (R-Rockingham) has introduced Senate Bill 902 which would establish voter registration by political party.Â
Senator Mark Obenshain Proposes Voter Registration by Political Party
written by Jeanine Martin
December 28, 2016
9 comments
Jeanine Martin
Also known as Lovettsville Lady, I am a Republican activist in the wilds of western Loudoun County.
9 comments
What is the purpose of a party? To select the most electable qualified candidates that best represent the values and objectives of the party.
We are offering the voters a (hopefully) superior product and putting our best against the supposed best of the Dems.
Now in theory, a healthy and competent party with a self-preservation instinct would repeatedly offer nominees that would resonate with the electorate, but then we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
So why bother? What use is a party if anyone outside the organization will select the nominees? What’s the use? Is there any wonder why our party continues to suck? Loses districts, loses the state, and most recently doesn’t even bother to oppose the democrat (Thank you 9th Senate District)
It’s almost like we go out of our way to avoid anything that smacks of Republic or Republicanism — our conventions are a democratic caucus, our SCC suffers from tyranny of the majority, and our representatives delight in resolving things by secret ballot. (Suck and cover)
‘Well I don’t want to be a Republican if I have to be identified as one’ with that thinking, it is only logical that we lose.
Hmmm, maybe I’ll end up being a registered Republican after all……….
Please, DO THIS! In Washington State, the Dems would designate crossover voters (teachers’ unions and such) to cast ballots in every Republican primary. They picked our candidates for us, and you know they were always the weakest ones.
[…] Sen. Mark Obenshain just announced he will be looking to pass party registration in Virginia.  I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve heard conservatives say they would support primaries so long as there was party registration.  It seems to have been the one compromise that exists to end this near decade long war over primaries versus conventions.  The divide has on the surface been between conservatives and establishment, but that is not entirely accurate when you dig deeper. With the infusion of rouge elements like the Ron Paul libertarians of 2012 and the Donald Trump populist of this year, the divide is murkier. Libertarians used the convention process to exercise an out-sized influence on the party, while the populists now rage against conventions after what happened in Harrisonburg earlier this year. Establishment Republicans saw their leader Eric Cantor crash and burn in a primary, while Ed Gillespie beat back his tea party challenge successfully in a convention.  The roads are no longer straight, but full of complicated intersections. […]
Party registration is NOT a good idea! It is basically meaningless and allows the state to be involved in party affairs where it has no business. Maryland has party registration that provides some instruction on why it is a bad idea. 1) Voters can change their registration every day by sending a letter to the Election Board that they have decided to change their party affiliation. 2) In Maryland, many Republicans and Conservatives identify as Democrats so as to not have Democrats treat them in a biased way when it come to business. Remember Maryland is a heavily Democrat state, similar to the way Northern Virginia, RIchmond, and Hampton Roads in their voting patterns. 3) Party affiliation is essentially the identification of a private matter between an individual and a private organization. The state has no business in this form of overreach. 4) Many Conservatives will either identify as an independent or not register to vote so any state provided list of Repubicans will be inaccurate from the beginning. 5) What if I pay dues to the Republican Party but refuse to identify myself as a Republican, will that keep me from voting in a primary election?
This proposal (SB902) is an attempt to fix a much more systemic problem in Republican Politics and is not the solution to what ailes us as a Party.
Having lived in Maryland for many years, under what is basically a one party system, Republicans registered as Democrats because that was the only way they had any say in elections. They also did it so they could “vote against the bums twice”.
Good points, Jeanine. The problem RPV needs to address is membership of a statewide organization, which is pathetic in this day and age. Excellent membership rolls to identify members in good standing, ie. dues paying, etc. should be the criteria we have to vote in our private, political party’s primary.
Unless you are registered as a Republican you will not be permitted to vote in a Republican primary, regardless of who you choose to give your money to.
Thank God