Tennessee ballot news
From Ballotpedia
| ||
| Propositions • | Recall | • Law |
Here you'll find a collection of ballot news stories from Tennessee.
Pam Murray recall appears to be successful
NASHVILLE, Tennessee: Yesterday, Nashville residents cast their votes regarding whether to recall Nashville Councilwoman Pam Murray. Recall efforts began after Murray and Councilwoman Karen Bennett disputed a proposed bill that would have led to permitting mobile vendors on Cleveland Street in which some called Murray "unresponsive". Residents became increasingly concerned after a NewsChannel 5 report in April 2009 that revealed that Murray works for a methadone clinic in Detroit, Michigan despite her legal residence being in Nashville.[1] According to Nashville law, elected officials must reside in the city or district they represent.
Murray was first elected to the District 5 council in 2003.
According to unofficial results and the Davidson County Election Commission, the recall effort was approved. The election commission plans to certify the results on Monday.[2]
- Pam Murray (incumbent): 540 (49.91%)
- Jamie Hollin (challenger): 542 (50.09%)
Tennessee counties hurry to meet new voting legislation deadline
Tennessee: All 95 counties in the state of Tennessee are required to meet standards set down by the Election Assistance Commission in 2005 by November 2010. The new standards would require that counties use paper ballots with optical scan voting machines. Also, known as the 2008 Tennessee Voter Confidence Act was adopted by the Nevada Legislature in 2008.[3] Currently, 93 out of 95 counties in Tennessee paperless electronic voting machines.[4] However, not all counties are finding it easy to make the change. Sullivan County Election Commission Chairman James Holmes said, "The law as it stands today is unworkable," because according to county officials the new "certified optical scan voting machines" are not easy to find.[5] Adding to the difficulty of adopting the new legislation, counties' officials said the cost will be a lot for counties to take on. The state is expected to spend about $6 to $10 million to replace and update county equipment, however additional cost like printing and storage will fall to the states. The additional cost is expected to be about $24,000 per election year.[3]
Recall confusion raises questions in Chattanooga
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee: The Hamilton County Election Commission informed local activist Frank DePinto that his recall petition for Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield was incomplete and must be revised to be approved. DePinto's petition lacked the text to appear on the ballot, which the law requires for petitions. The opacity of the state and local recall laws also led to questions on whether the petition itself removes Littlefield from office or simply presents it on a ballot for voters to decide. The number of signatures required is also unclear, due to conflicting statutes. The commission will revisit the petition on May 13.[6]
See also
References
| |||||
