Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, listening attentively in the House Ethics and Campaign Finance Committee on March 11, 2026, in the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House Ethics and Campaigns Finance Committee approved Yarbrough's bill that would require voters to choose a political party when registering to vote for the first time or within 60 days of a primary election. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
An Alabama House committee Tuesday approved a bill that would close state primaries and require voters to register with one or the other to cast a ballot.
HB 541, sponsored by Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, would require existing registered voters to declare a party affiliation at the polls for primaries held after Jan. 1, 2027. Voters who wanted to vote in a different party primary would have to change their affiliation within 60 days of the election.
“I firmly believe that parties should choose their nominees based on their party members, including sometimes in the primary city where you have to vote for local or state executive committee members,” Yarbrough said.
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The Ethics and Campaign Finance Committee approved the legislation 5-3, splitting down party lines, with no changes after a public hearing Wednesday.
Alabama does not currently have party registration. Voters may cast a ballot for either party in a primary. But if runoffs occur, a voter can only participate in runoffs for the party in which he or she cast a primary ballot.
Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, said that the bill would discourage independent voters from participating in primary elections. According to a recent Gallup poll, 45% of Americans identified as an independent with 27% identifying as Republican and Democrat, each, in 2025.
“A lot of people who want to participate in picking the candidate they vote for in November also want to participate in that process in the primary because they want to make sure the candidate they support is somebody they can vote for in the general,” England said. “As you told me last week, if you don’t declare a party, you can’t vote.”
Alabama’s long history of one-party rule led to open primaries. For decades the Democratic primary and runoffs served as the de facto general election in the state. Republicans have controlled the governorship since 2003; the Legislature since 2010 and every statewide elected office since 2012.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Alabama is one of 15 states that does not currently require voters to declare a party affiliation when registering to vote.
The proposed legislation would also allow new voters to choose a party affiliation when registering to vote starting on July 1, 2027, but if they do not choose they will be unaffiliated and follow the same guidelines as existing voters starting in January.
The bill comes after the Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee approved a resolution at its winter meeting earlier this month supporting closing the state’s primary elections.
Yarbrough said that closed primaries would ensure integrity in primary elections.
“I think that Republicans should choose Republicans and Democrats choose Democrats, and then they go at it in the general, and may the best man win,” Yarbrough said. “I just firmly believe in the concept of that as a matter of voting integrity and sound process.”
England, referencing some arguments made in a public hearing on Wednesday, said that Democrats trust the people to choose a candidate.
“It’s not the party, it’s the person. If you don’t follow the person, then you’re no longer part of the party,” England said. “I personally believe this is a party fight that the rest of us don’t want anything to do with. But since you’ve got the super majority now and the power to do it, in my opinion, this is just abusive.”
According to data from the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office, 21% of registered voters cast a ballot in the 2024 primary election. According to a recent Unite America study, a nonpartisan venture fund, 7% of voting age Americans elected 87% of Congress in 2024.
The bill moves to the House floor.
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Author: Anna Barrett