After failing to reach the finish line in the 2026 legislative session, a bill by State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity) will reportedly be high on the list of priorities among leadership after some Democratic operatives in the state have flirted with trying to hijack the upcoming special Republican primary election.
House Bill 541 faced significant backlash from Democratic lawmakers, while drawing broad support from Republican leadership in the House. The most vocal Republican pushback on the floor came from House Speaker Pro Tem Chris Pringle (R-Mobile).
Among other things, the Safeguard Alabama Voter Engagement (SAVE) Act would have prohibited electors registered with a political party from voting a different political party ballot at a primary election or primary runoff election.
Despite passing the House floor and a Senate committee, the bill failed to reach the Senate floor for a vote before the legislative session concluded.
The subject of closing the state’s primaries is a long-standing debate in Alabama. However, it has been recently reignited in light of the novel primary situation the state finds itself in.
Alabama has a special primary election in some congressional districts due to federal action allowing the state to use previously barred congressional maps, potentially resulting in a 6-1 Republican map instead of the previous 5-2 map from the 2024 election.
Since there are no Democratic candidates in Congressional Districts 1, 2 and 7, some Democrats in the state are urging their members to influence the outcome in those districts, as Alabama does not have closed primaries.
SEE: Alabama Democrat Party vice chair calls for Democrats to vote in upcoming Republican special primary
In the meantime, Republican lawmakers and politicos have called for massive Republican turnout in the special primary, while further calling for the state to close its primaries.
For Yarbrough, the debate over closed primaries isn’t much of a debate. Although Yarbrough’s bill would not have gone into effect in time to affect the August special election, the recent calls for Democratic meddling show its necessity.
“If you didn't go to church, you wouldn't want somebody voting for your pastor,” Yarbrough told 1819 News. “If you had an electric co-op, and that co-op served a certain area, you wouldn't want people outside that area voting on the board. So, it's a really simple concept. It’s a simple concept just like voter registration, voter ID [and] closed borders.”
“The people who oppose it, it's because they don't have honorable motives and they don't want the more conservative option or choice to be had. I hate to say, I told you so, but I told you so," he added.
Yarbrough says that his legislation will make a comeback in the 2027 legislative session, and he has been assured that it is a priority among leadership.
“I've been told by more than one state leader that this bill is going to be a high, high priority for next session,” Yarbrough said. “And I fully intend, of course, to carry this legislation again and get it across the finish line. We'll have the entire session. This bill will be filed early on, and we will be ready to roll."
He continued, “I think in Alabama, running on our conservative values and platforms is a strength, and we're going to continue to be a supermajority in this state. And our people need to see us lead, and we need to lead based on our convictions and beliefs and principles.”
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