GOP ponders future of primary-vote rules

Republican Party delegates may be asked to decide whether to continue requiring unaffiliated voters to register with the party in order to vote in their closed primaries.

A law allowing any voter not already registered with another party to become a Republican and vote in a GOP closed primary is set to expire next year. But legislators are looking at extending the law, possibly permanently.

Whether it gets extended may rely on whether members of the state GOP party support it, however. During a Wednesday morning Government Operations Interim Committee hearing, Utah Republican Party vice chairman Todd Weiler requested that any action be delayed until after the party's June 9 organizing convention.

The party has already taken a stand on the closed primary as a means to ensure that it is mostly party members making decisions about their candidates. But they have not taken a position on the same-day party registration.

"This is important enough that the party should take a formal position," he said.

The debate within the GOP could center on whether the system is abused by some voters who are seeking to put the party's weakest candidate — one of the main arguments for a closed primary — into the general election, and whether requiring registration 30 days before the primary would prevent that. On the flip side, some committee members expressed concern that restricting who can vote in a state-run election is not an equitable use of taxpayer dollars.

While both sides have legitimate arguments, Weiler said he would prefer to let the party members decide the party's position.

"There is a delicate balance that needs to be struck," he said. "I'm not sure where the pendulum will fall."

Utah Democratic Party executive director Todd Taylor said that because they do not have any restrictions on who can vote in their primary — unless it is a presidential primary, which is overseen by the national party and allows only independents and Democrats — the law does not impact them. However, the party generally supports any law that improves voter access, even if it has a peripheral effect of helping to boost the membership rolls of another party.

"We have a pretty consistent position of allowing the broadest possible participation," he said. "This system is working, and it's not causing an undue burden."

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E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com