ACLU enters loyalty oath battle

The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia is jumping  square  into the middle of the loyalty oath skirmish.

The Republican Party of Virginia recently announced that it would require a loyalty oath from Virginia voters who wish to vote in the March 6 primary.

Several Republican lawmakers along with Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling asked GOP leaders to back off a bit and reconsider the requirement that would have voters promise to vote for the party’s presidential candidate in the General Election in November.

The ACLU joined the battle Thursday and sent a letter to the Republican Party of Virginia saying that it would file suit in federal  court if state GOP officials didn’t change their minds. 

“The ACLU respects the associational rights of political parties to establish their own rules for membership and participation, but this is a primary organized, operated and funded by the government,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis, “The government cannot require voters to pledge support for a particular candidate.”

In the letter to the Republican Central Committee of Virginia, the organization that oversees the Republican Party of Virginia, ACLU of Virginia Legal Director Rebecca K. Glenberg wrote, “The pledge requirement places severe burdens on Republican voters. Some voters who are bona fide Republicans may yet find it impossible to state, in advance, that they will agree to vote for a nominee other than the candidate they support. Voters who do not feel that they can make this promise in good faith will be deterred from exercising their right to vote in the Republican primary. Additionally, some Republican voters who do intend to support the eventual nominee but value the secret ballot may not wish to proclaim their intentions publicly by signing a loyalty oath.”

Glenberg said that political parties in Virginia have the option to use primaries, conventions or caucuses to pick nominees.

The first amendment would protect the party’s right to use loyalty oaths if the party chose to use  the convention or caucus method to choose its nominee, Glenberg said. 

Willis said he’s heard from voters who object to the oath.

“We’ve already received calls from Republican voters upset about the pledge and volunteering to serve as plaintiffs in a lawsuit,” Willis said. “The best scenario for everyone is for the Republican Party to back away from the loyalty oath requirement in primaries. If Republican Party officials want to use the oath in the future, they can nominate by convention or caucus.”

According to Kyle Kondik , a political analyst  with the University of Virginia Center for Politics, loyalty oaths have been around since the Reconstruction period after the U.S. Civil War and both parties have used them.

Senior reporter Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.