I initially supported the concept of closing the primaries. However, after discussing the matter in an open dialogue with Moderately Marvelous on twitter. I am OPPOSED to closing the Republican primaries.
The reason is that when the primaries are closed, you could be excluded by voting if the Republican party determines that you are not a bona fide Republican. For someone like myself where 5 former of the 10 former living Knox County GOP Chairman publicly opposed my election as an SEC member, they could determine that I am not a bona fide Republican. The five are jealous of the success that the party achieved during my term. So, they’re opposition was clearly a self serving. This type of activity should not remove my ability to cast a vote.
For the record in my SEC race, my opponent spent in excess of $15,000 while I spent ZERO dollars. I garnered 37.3% of the vote, very good results for the investment.
There are two federal lawsuits pending against the state-mandated open primary. A ruling is expected from the district court in Idaho by Dec. 31. The other suit was brought by the South Carolina Republican Party.
No court or legislature can mandate closed primaries. If the state-mandated open primary is repealed, each party will have the option of inviting independents to vote in its primaries. Unless the state prohibits it, each party will also have the option of inviting members of opposing parties to vote in its primaries. The difference will be that the parties– not the state– will decide who's eligible to vote in each primary.