Virginia GOP Demands Loyalty Oath

Radley Balko | November 29, 2007

Apparently worried that independents and Democrats will cross over to vote for a certain Texas congressman in the state's open primary, the Virginia GOP is requiring voters to sign a pledge of loyalty before they'll be allowed to vote. The pledge says that in exchange to be being permitted to vote in the primary, the voter promises to support whomever the GOP ends up nominating for president.

The pledge isn't legally enforceable, of course. It's also insulting. Only the most slavish party loyalist would commit a year in advance to voting for any one of the GOP's seven candidates, no matter what happens between now and then, solely because of the (R) in front of his name.

Given the Virginia GOP's legislative record over the last several years, it also isn't exactly clear to what principles voters would be pledging their loyalty, other than contempt for gay people.

They should probably be more concerned about requiring elected Virginia Republicans to pledge an oath to a rudimentary belief in limited government.