NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- If you think you're a registered Republican or Democrat, you're wrong. For primaries in Tennessee, there is no party registration.

"Tennessee, for a long time, has had the tradition of not having party registration for primaries," said Dick Williams, chairman of watchdog group Common Cause Tennessee. "Obviously, you have to choose one or the other when you go to vote in a primary."

But some lawmakers think it's time to change that.

Rep. Debra Maggart said Tennessee is a two-party state and that people should choose an affiliation if they want to vote in a primary.

Currently, 25 other states hold closed primaries or caucuses.

"I do think it's time for our state to take a look at this proposal and see if it's something that we think would be good for both parties and for the state of Tennessee," said Maggart.

Both parties have recently had problems with what they call crossover voting.

The Democratic Party found that many people who had voted in Republican primaries for years crossed over to vote for Rosalind Kurita in the Democratic primary.

On the other side of the aisle, there have been allegations that Democrats crossed over and voted for Speaker Kent Williams in his Republican primary.

This bill could nix those moves.

"I know there will be the conversations about how this helps, you know, people go in and vote the weaker person by crossing over to increase the changes for their guy to win, so this definitely would change the competition," said Maggart.

But voter watchdog groups are worried about anything that could make elections more partisan.

"I think most Tennesseans would like to say they vote for the man or hopefully the woman now that they think ought to be in the office," said Williams.

Maggart said she is still working out details of how this registration might go with the secretary of state.

She said in order to avoid the monetary expense of having everyone re-register to vote, she is looking at allowing people to register with a party at the polling place.

Maggart also wants to make sure it isn't difficult to change parties if a voter decides he or she isn't a Democrat or a Republican anymore.

If this bill passes, third-party voters and independents would no longer be able to vote in a Democratic or Republican primary.

All voters, regardless of party affiliation, can vote in the general election or non-partisan elections.