I live in one of the few states that have open primaries, and as such we do not affilliate with any political party and are afforded the right to vote in either Republican or Democratic primaries so long as they do not occur on the same day.
I believe this encourages independent voters to get involved in the primary process, it's a good thing! But the Virginia State Republican party obviously does not see it that way.
I read about the "Loyalty Oath" on this very site (thanks Dkos) and it did not sit well with me or my husband. I am somewhat of a political junkie, he is not and it suprised me that he took offense to such a requirement in order to vote in the March primary. So this morning I got on the phone first, with my local registrar, who sounded as skeptical about this oath as my husband and I. She suggested that I contact the Virginia State Board of Elections in Richmond. I talked to a gentleman, (who shall remain nameless but seemed impatient with my questions regarding the oath) he suggested to me that it was an "Oath of Conscience". He went on to explain that the oath cannot be considered or have any consequences in the general election.
Why then, would they even want to make this a requirement? To me this smacks of voter suppression, not a solution to keep Democrats from affecting the outcome of the primary (as has been suggested). This is another way to keep voters at home! I'm just guessing, but I don't think many people want to be put in a position to declare allegiance to an unknown candidate, just because they have an R in front of their name. We have not had a chance to see these candidates appeal to the more main stream voters, we have only seen them out-do each other on far right issues, as opposed to reasonable policy making.
Don't get me wrong I don't agree with anyone signing oaths of loyalty, with the exception of the oath to uphold and defend the constitution for the military and when polititians are elected to public office. Citizens should never, never, never have to sign an oath of allegiance to vote for Pete's sake!
Our choices in the Virginia primary are very limited this time due to only two candidates meeting the requirements to be on the ballot, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. That's it, those are our choices.
I am trying contact the Virginia Republican Party to voice my comlaint, but as of this writing their mailbox is full, hmmm.. I think I know why. I am also filing a complaint with the VA State Board of Elections regarding barring any such oaths from our election process from any party.
I intend to vote in the primary and I will have to sign this oath, if it remains a requirement to cast my vote come March 6th, and I do intend to vote my conscience in the general election because I am a proud citizen of the US and it is my duty to vote for the person that I believe will be a BETTER PRESIDENT and not for any polical party.
Are the Republicans that afraid of the citizens of Virginia???