Posted on 01/30/2016 12:43:06 PM PST by csvset
State Republican Party leaders voted in Richmond on Saturday to ask the state to cancel a required party loyalty pledge in the March 1 GOP presidential primary.
Roger Miles, a GOP state central committee member, said shortly after the unanimous voice vote that the party leaders are halting their plans because of "bad publicity."
At the party's request, the State Board of Elections has been requiring all voters in the GOP primary to sign and print their name on a statement affirming "I am a Republican" before being allowed to cast a ballot.
Saturday's development comes after The Pilot learned late last week that there was a loophole.
The form must be filled out to get a GOP ballot - no exceptions. But scribbling something as simple as a jagged line or an "X" in place of the signature and printed name on the half-page form can be enough to meet the requirements, state election officials said.
Virginia does not register voters by party and allows anyone to participate in any primary election. Republican officials had previously said the oath was intended to prevent Democrats from crossing over and helping to select their preferred nominee.
Democrats have no such requirement.
The pledges have already been included in absentee ballots sent in advance of the primary. However, the statements are not part of the ballot itself and could be discarded.
Martin Mash, spokesman for the state Board of Election, said Saturday the agency has been alerted to the party's action and "we are in the process of determining the most appropriate way to do this."
Opponents of the oath, including supporters of GOP front-runner Donald Trump, unsuccessfully tried to block the pledge in federal court. They argued it will keep away black Trump supporters who traditionally vote Democratic and wouldn't want to risk being ostracized by publicly signing a statement declaring they're Republicans.
However, what is acceptable self-identification - considering that a voter's penmanship can range from clear to indecipherable - can't be judged by a person's ability to write legibly, officials said.
When asked last week if it's acceptable to draw a simple line for a signature and jot "XX" for a printed name, without protesting the oath form itself, both Mash and Virginia Department of Elections attorney Martha Brissette agreed it was.
"If you had an X and a squiggle, there's no way you could determine the intent," Mash said.
"So you have to assume that the voter was being sincere in what they were doing. As opposed to if the voter wrote in there a profane message - you know what I mean? I think those are the instances that might call attention. But if you're a voter and you don't ask for assistance. And you put an X on there and a straight line ... and it appears it's the best you can do and there's no way to know either way, then that shouldn't be a barrier to counting the ballot."
Mash said denying such a form at the polls would be a problem.
"What's so difficult about this is a lot of this goes to intent," he said. "It's so hard to crawl in somebody's head and figure out whether they were doing the best they could by signing an 'X' or whether they were intentionally trying to obstruct the purpose of the document."
Brissette noted there's "accepted principle" in state law that an "X" is sufficient for a signature.
John Findlay, executive director of the state GOP, said Friday he had not known the election officials would accept an "X" or drawn line for the printed name.
The Rev. Stephen Parson, one of three black ministers who unsuccessfully sued the Election Board in an attempt to quash the party loyalty statement, said many people would be willing to participate in the primary if the looser identification is allowed.
"If people know about this, it would at least be a solution when they can go and vote," he said. "We need this can of worms opened up."
Several South Hampton Roads city voter registrars said last week they hadn't considered what standards would be required when checking signatures on the Republican oath.
Chesapeake registrar Mary Lynn Pinkerman said she would likely accept whatever a voter wrote. "We try to help people vote, not prevent them from voting," she said.
This is a developing story. Return to PilotOnline.com for details.
Bill Bartel, 757-446-2398, bill.bartel@pilotonline.com
It was meaningless anyway.
Flashback 2015:
GOP ‘loyalty oath’ aimed at Donald Trump could backfire
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2015/0826/GOP-loyalty-oath-aimed-at-Donald-Trump-could-backfire
Doesn’t seem very democratic either (yes I know we are a Republic). but it just seem communist in some way.
After they crammed Mitt Romney down our throats last time, people are angry and will not want to take any pledge to the GOP. Smart move to discontinue that plan.
After the conservatives did so well with Newt in the 1994 Republican Revolution, the GOPe organized and started changing the rules to have open primaries/crossover votes.
They wanted to water down the conservative vote and they were successful. Now they are mad about unintended consequences! I hope the GOPe likes what they got for trying to kick the conservative base out of the party. Ha!
Egg meet Face....
I’m a long time Virginian and conservative who has not missed an election for so much as dog catcher in my life. This, “oath” needed to be trashed.
Changing the rules of the “agreement” in midstream? Donald is going to have a field day with that.
The whole 19 candidate pre-primary circus is due to the RNC central commmittee creating rules to help a single establishment candidate.
It turns out central planning doesn’t work for free elections either.
The GOPe won’t live up to its end of deal. A deal, I might add, that THEY instituted.
You’re a GOPer then?
I suspect democrats have and will do the same if their candidate is a shoe-in. Politics is a battle and sometimes you deploy your weapons selectively. I don't need to sign an oath to any party to vote my conscience.
Handwriting is on the wall. Don’t p o the next Prez.
Fair enough.
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