On Saturday, the Alabama Republican Party executive committee passed a resolution calling on the Alabama Legislature to institute a closed primary system for the state's elections.
Under a closed primary system, voters must declare a party before voting in their party's primary.
However, this is not a system that House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) would like to see in Alabama.
During an appearance on APTV's "Capitol Journal," Daniels said the flexibility to vote in primaries was best for the state.
"I'm certainly against closed primaries," Daniels said. "I think that, you know, you have individuals, especially young people today, that [don't] identify with either party. And so, those individuals that are in the middle that are, you know, independent or who are apolitical, right? – that have not identified with a party but understand or like certain attributes for each of the parties and they want to make, pick and choose who they want to vote for, should not be limited to a primary to being in one party or the other primary because there is not a Democrat primary and these individuals typically lean Democrat, but they may see someone they like in the Republican primary, but they won't have that opportunity.
"For me, to tell you politically, it will be damaging to the Republican Party if there are closed primaries. And I will tell you – you think you have individuals that pretend to be party bosses now? A person can single-handedly control every primary if you close primaries because you'll have those loyal party people that will be the only ones voting in those primaries that oftentimes you end up surfacing the most extreme candidate – ends up surfacing. And that's not good for Alabama. That's not good for growth, and that's not good for opportunity long-term."
According to the Madison County Democrat lawmaker, should the Republican-controlled legislature put in place closed primaries, his party would "be back in charge" in 20 years.
"I'll be against it in principle – principle-wise, I'll be against it," Daniels said. "I was really against actually having individuals that couldn't vote, only can vote in one primary, anyway, even when we talked about that several years ago. It's just something I've been opposed to. I think individuals should have the freedom to be able to vote for who they want to, who they choose to vote for. I think that this is setting a dangerous precedent. If this happens, I will tell you – you look for the Democratic Party to be back in charge in about 20 years."
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com.
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