The leaders of the Limestone County Republican and Democratic parties think the new law banning crossover voting in the state is a good idea.

Gov. Kay Ivey recently signed into law the bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Whatley, R-Auburn.

Limestone County Democratic Chairman Mike Smith thinks the change is long overdue.

“I’m for it, absolutely, we should have done it 36 years ago,” Smith said, citing the dispute over crossover voting 30 years ago that lead to the state’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction.

The law bans voters from casting a ballot for one party in a primary election and then crossing over to vote in another party’s runoff election.

“Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, you shouldn’t go voting for someone in the primary you think you can (later) beat or you may end up putting a fool in office,” Smith said.

In 1986, then-Democratic Attorney General Charlie Graddick won the primary but lost the nomination to Lt. Gov. Bill Baxley in the courts, where Graddick was found ineligible after wrongly encouraging GOP crossover voting. Graddick ran as a write-in candidate but Republican Guy Hunt became the state’s first GOP governor in modern times. The state has only elected one other Democratic governor since, Don Siegelman who was elected in 1998.

Smith said most people who deal with politics favor the law. He said it does not lock a person into a particular party.

“It simply says if you voted in the primary and there’s a runoff election, you cant take the other ballot,” Smith said.

Noah Wahl, chairman of the Limestone County Republican Party, also approves of the change.

“I think it is a good thing,” Wahl said. “I think it will keep people from switching (ballots) between the primary and the runoff. I think it is good for both parties. I think it will encourage people to go ahead and vote in the primary instead of waiting to vote (in a primary runoff).”

Those who consider themselves independent voters can still vote in the primary election of a particular party but they have to choose a party during the primary and can only vote in that party’s runoff election, if there is one.

* The Associated Press contributed to this report.