Judge upholds Tennessee law to stop crossover voting in primaries. Critics say the law is too vague.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge in Nashville on Monday dismissed a challenge to a Tennessee law aimed at making sure primary voters are “bona fide” members of the party they are voting for.

Former Ambassador to Poland and longtime Tennessee Republican politician Victor Ashe sued state election officials in November, claiming the law is so vague that he could be prosecuted for voting in a Republican primary.

A law passed last year requires polling places to post warning signs stating that it’s a crime to vote in a political party’s primary if you are not a bona fide member of that party. Those signs refer back to a 1972 state law that has rarely been invoked. It requires primary voters to be “bona fide” party members or to “declare allegiance” to the party.

Because Tennessee voters are not registered by party, Ashe and other plaintiffs argued the laws invites arbitrary enforcement and are likely to intimidate otherwise legitimate voters. The laws do not define what it means to be a bona fide party member or to declare allegiance to a party, and they don’t say how long that allegiance must last.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that Ashe, real estate developer Phil Lawson, and the League of Women Voters of Tennessee lack standing to sue. Richardson found that their claims of potential injury were too speculative.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Zeigler, No. 4 Tennessee close huge week with 81-74 win at No. 14 Alabama