Averill: It’s time for voter registration by party

By Trixie Averill
Guest Post

Let’s talk voter registration. I’m stepping outside my comfort zone and throwing myself to the lions but I feel that, in light of recent events and mostly because it is the right thing to do, the time has come for the Virginia General Assembly to approve voter registration by party.

No, this isn’t just in the heat of the moment after witnessing a very divisive State Central Committee meeting where GOP friends were pitted against each other and a few even brought to tears over the pressure they were receiving from both sides.  The fact is, I’ve argued myself blue in the face talking in favor of it off and on during the 19 years that I served on that most auspicious body.  Most of America has registration by party and there is a clear option for those who wish not to align themselves. It’s called Independent, and that person can choose which primary he/she wishes to vote in. They can even change their minds in each election; it’s entirely up to them.

Bill Bolling: ‘It’s time for party registration in Virginia’

By Lynn R. Mitchell

What do Republicans in Virginia and Mississippi have in common?

No, this is not a joke, it’s a serious question.

The answer?

Both states recently had high-visibility Republican primaries, but the outcome was not determined by Republicans. Instead, the outcome was determined by independents and Democrats, and these elections vividly demonstrate why we need party registration in Virginia, and why primary elections should be limited to self-identified Republicans and Democrats.

So begins Bill Bolling’s column, “It’s time for party registration in Virginia,” in Sunday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch. He goes on to cite the reasons why voter registration by party is needed in Virginia. I agree. Good read.

‘Let me see your credentials!’ A look at Ohio’s voter registration by party and why Virginia needs it

By Patrick Haley

“Get that spellbinder’s credentials,” shouts Mayor Shinn in the popular musical, The Music Man, when the con man professor Harold Hill comes to River City, Iowa, to start a boys’ band.

Richmond, Virginia, isn’t River City, but in the aftermath of the recent Eric Cantor versus David Brat election, we hear many calling to see ‘the credentials’ of some of the primary voters.

Let me share my credentials with you.  My wife, Brenda, and I lived in Virginia for twelve years before returning to our native Ohio in 2007.  We lived initially in Staunton, a charming small town nestled within the Shenandoah Valley, and later we lived in Henrico County.

I was Chair of the Staunton Republican Committee and was very active in Republican politics throughout our time in the Commonwealth including working for Congressman Bob Goodlatte and former Governor Jim Gilmore.

Cantor loss: It is time for voter registration by party

By Lynn R. Mitchell

If the June 10th Republican Primary in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District had involved only Republican voters, Eric Cantor would be continuing as Majority Leader (and possibly preparing to become Speaker), and Dave Brat would be planning fall classes at Randolph-Macon.

In a recent poll, Dave Brat lost among Republicans 51 percent to 49 percent but won among “other” voters 71 percent to 29 percent. Those non-Republican voters flipped the race and proved true a Washington Post piece written by a Democratic operative claiming to have coordinated with the tea party to defeat Eric Cantor (see Democrats help take down Eric Cantor).