Why You Should Pull a Democratic Primary Ballot

Thanks to Executive Committee member Alecia Stephens for this write-up. This is an editorial piece and does not reflect the views or opinions of the Sumner County Democratic Party.

So you’re in line to vote in a primary election (whether it’s County, State or Federal) and you are called on by a poll worker to check in. That poll worker will ask if you want a Democratic or Republican ballot. If you’re a Democrat, of course you would pull a Democratic ballot, right? 

But you have no Democratic candidates running in your district or they’re running unopposed. Or the Republican primary race is between a Sumner County Constitutional Republican (aka… a fascist) and a more traditional Republican candidate. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to ask for a Republican ballot and vote for the lesser of two evils in hopes they’ll win that primary? The thought being that a more traditional Republican in office is better than a Sumner County Constitutional Republican.

That may seem like a valid strategy and one that was seen as the only viable option for Democrats and liberals living in Sumner County for a long time. But here are a few reasons why it's more important than ever that Democrats ask for their parties' ballots during a primary election.

1. Data for Campaigns & Candidates

First, let’s lay some groundwork. In Tennessee, you do not register to vote as a member of any one party. According to the Tennessee Annotated Code (TCA §2-7-115 (b): 

A registered voter is entitled to vote in a primary election for offices for which the voter is qualified to vote at the polling place where the voter is registered if:

• (1) The voter is a bona fide member of and affiliated with the political party in whose primary the voter seeks to vote; or

• (2) At the time the voter seeks to vote, the voter declares allegiance to the political party in whose primary the voter seeks to vote and states that the voter intends to affiliate with that party.

If this sounds confusing, you’re right. It is confusing. There’s some legal murkiness when it comes to primary elections in Tennessee, since we are technically considered an open primary state.

Now, when it comes to the data that’s available regarding elections, political parties, politicians and campaign organizers cannot see WHO someone voted for. For example, if I voted for the Democratic candidate for governor, but the Republican candidate for Congress, that information is private and not disclosable. 

However, which ballot I ask for when I vote in a primary election is publicly available information. The data team for a political campaign can pull information from last year’s primary election and see that I pulled a Democratic ballot. They can use that information to target residences for canvassing, text and phone banks to likely voters, etc.

2. Funding From State Party

So, pulling a Democratic ballot helps campaigns target the right voters. Great. But another reason to pull a Dem ballot in the upcoming primary elections has to do with funding. See, when the Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) decides where to put their resources and funding, they are going to look for areas that have either a high or growing number of Democratic voters. How will they know where there is a growing number of Democratic voters? By looking at how many voters asked for a Democratic ballot in the primaries. 

As the TNDP looks at the districts and counties where they can flip seats, the places with a strong or growing Democratic presence will receive more money and support. While it may seem like a good idea in the short-term to pull a Republican ballot to prevent a truly awful candidate from getting the Republican nomination, it ends up hindering long-term plans for changing the makeup of our state and local governments.

3. SCDP Leadership Eligibility

Finally, another reason to pull a Democratic ballot in the upcoming primaries is the ability to have a say in your county-level Democratic party. Every two years, the county parties have a reorganization where a chair, officer and an executive committee are elected by the “bona fide” Democratic voters of that county. In order to be considered a “bona fide” Democrat to participate in the reorganization, you will need to have pulled a Democratic ballot in the last primary election. The next Sumner County reorganization will take place in Spring 2027, so in order to vote in the reorganization or even better, run to be a member of the executive committee, you need to have asked for a Democratic ballot in the August 6, 2026 primary. 

While it is understandable that in the past, voting in the Republican primary was a valid approach, please consider that Sumner County has more Democrats than ever on the ballot in 2026. And even if you don’t have any Democrats running in your county or city level elections, asking for a Democratic ballot on Election Day (or during early voting) is important for the long-term strategy of freeing Tennessee from the Republican supermajority that is slowly killing this state. I hope you will consider that as you enter the voting booth later this year.