The Republican Party of Virginia’s State Central Committee (SCC) voted unanimously by acclimation Jan. 30 to rescind the statement of affiliation tied to voting in the Republican presidential primary on March 1.
According to the Republican Party’s website, the SCC had originally approved the statement in September 2015, but the “Democrat-controlled State Board of Elections altered and adopted a form—created by the Department of Elections—that retained only nine of the original 47 words written and adopted by the SCC.
“The SCC motion made clear that it was motivated not by any disagreement about the party’s right of free association under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but in recognition that Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration and Attorney General Herring had purposely created a situation designed to confuse voters intending to participate in the March 1 presidential primary,” the website stated.
Patrick County voters and other Virginia voters who participate in the Republican primary will now not be required to sign a pledge or statement of party affiliation before voting.
Voters participating in the Democratic Party’s presidential primary have never been required to sign a pledge or statement of party affiliation, and that has not changed.
In Virginia, any registered voter may vote in either the Republican or Democratic presidential primary, but may not vote in both.
(See related article about voter registration.)
