Statement on Recent Mailer

The WCRP understands that there has been significant interest in our latest mail piece. This mailing was intended to reach new arrivals to Williamson County and individuals seeking to change their party affiliation.

Often people think that party requirements are fairly basic—if their most recent vote was for a Republican, then they are Republican. And by extension, if someone has voted, on occasion, as a Republican, they often assume that they are likewise eligible to run for Republican office or to participate in either the party’s primaries or conventions.

Many are quite surprised and upset when they discover there are a number of additional criteria. There are, of course, dues-paying members, but this isn’t about fundraising. It is about participation. They can join the party. They can join an auxiliary group—YR’s, RWWC, Career Women. They can attend our events, our picnics, our Mix-and-Mingles. They can volunteer, maybe knock on doors for the very campaigns that inspired them to first cross over. However, someone who continuously vacillates back and forth ruins their own eligibility. Someone who does it deliberately, as a tactic, is breaking Tennessee State law.

This is why all Vote Centers display a placard that explains this fact. Unfortunately, many people still miss that posting and are unaware of the statute. Indeed, that public signage was our inspiration for the legal warning on the flip side of our mailer.

The mailer was a good faith effort to raise awareness of this issue and help educate the community about the law as it pertains to crossover voting as a tactic to help or hurt a candidate that one does not actually support.

Sincerely,
Dr. Tracy Miller,
Chair of the Williamson County Republican Party