By Richard Winger Two Virginia legislators have introduced HB 806, to provide that the voter registration form ask applicants to choose a party, or to choose independent status. The authors are L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Woodbridge) and R. Steven Landers (R-Verona).
The bill is deficient, because it says that independents cannot vote in party primaries. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1986 in Tashjian v Republican Party of Connecticut that each party with a primary has the right to decide for itself whether to let independents vote in its primary. The bill should acknowledge this, and should set out procedures for parties …read more
Source:: http://ballot-access.org/2016/01/19/virginia-bill-for-registration-by-party/