MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Senate will consider legislation on Thursday requiring party registration to participate in the state's partisan primary elections.
The bill (HB541) by State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity) wouldn't apply to the 2026 elections, but would go into effect on January 1, 2027, if passed into law. The bill has already passed the House.
Thursday is the last day of the 2026 legislative session. If the bill passes the Senate with an amendment, it would have to go back to the House again for concurrence. If passed without an amendment, it would go to Gov. Kay Ivey's desk for her consideration.
Currently, Alabama's primaries are open. However, if one opts to participate in a party's primary, they may participate only in that party's primary runoff.
Yarbrough's bill would require voters to register with a political party to vote the party's ballot in a primary election or a primary runoff. It would impose a 60-day blackout period before a primary election, before which voters could redeclare party affiliation.
State Sen. Pro-Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) told reporters on Wednesday, the last day of the session, would be "a little spicy."
"It's going to be a little spicy, as they say, tomorrow for our friends on both sides of the aisle. We've got some bills that they feel the pressure, they're in the vise because we've only got a little bit of time left. It's going to get a little hairy tomorrow but that is just part of the last day in every year, in every quadrennium. Each session is that way. It's going to be a little spicy," Gudger said. "The one thing I think a lot of people are asking me about is closed primaries. You're going to see that on the calendar. Besides that, I'm going to kind of leave it at that because there's going to be a little bit of strategy on our part of trying to win and what's going to be on that calendar tomorrow. That's the one thing I can tell you."
The bill will likely be opposed by Democrats and possibly some skeptical Republicans.
"I expected it to be on the calendar, and we're going to talk about that closed primary for a while. I have no indication in terms of where the majority is on that. It's their party who's pushing this. It's going to be very interesting to see how this vote goes," Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro) said.
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