Image Credit: Shelby County, TN Election Commission / Facebook
Tennessee Conservative News [By Olivia Lupia] –
A machine glitch, which was reportedly caused by human operator error, caused four judicial races to be missing from some Shelby County ballots toward the end of early voting, spurring an investigation by the local election commission as those races also happened to be the same four which did not appear on hundreds of ballots mailed to absentee voters.
The Shelby County Election Commission (SCEC) originally informed voters about an accidental ballot irregularity in mid-July, notifying absentee voters of a supplemental ballot arriving in their mailboxes before July 15. A processing error resulted in about 700 incomplete ballots being mailed out, omitting the 30th Judicial Circuit Court races, chancery court, and criminal court positions, and a smaller number of the affected ballots leaving out a referendum to amend the Shelby County charter.
Both ballots were allowed to be mailed separately, with postage provided for the supplemental ballot, and the SCEC stated that each ballot was digitally coded to ensure only one vote per voter in each race.
“We understand, especially in this political climate, that there’s heightened interest in the election process. Transparently acknowledging and quickly correcting the omission is vital for maintaining election integrity and voter trust,” said Shelby County Administrator of Elections Linda Phillips.
Then on July 31, Phillips said she received reports of incomplete ballots at an early voting location, which ended up affecting about 300 voters. A statement by the SCEC after their preliminary investigation claims the ballot issue was due to “human error” and believed to be limited to a single machine.
“I’ve dedicated my career to detailed and thorough processes that minimize the opportunity for election errors,” Phillips said. “However, this election cycle has tested our resolve, as our team has simply been stretched beyond capacity by the addition of a last-minute judicial race.”
During a press conference on Monday, August 1, Phillps reiterated the SCEC’s belief the machine glitch was “just a regrettable human error on one machine,” though there was no specification as to what the error actually was or how it happened.
Chairman of the election commission Mark Luttrell echoed Phillip’s statement that the problem was a staff error and not an equipment failure and said the commission is getting close to an answer on exactly how the mistake occurred, promising transparency in the investigation.
“This is a challenge. It’s a challenge that will not be taken lightly,” Luttrell said. “It’s always a concern to our citizens when they see an issue like this. It’s very much a concern of ours.”
Phillips also said the SCEC has “extensive testing protocols,” but that the processes for ballot auditors are “very complicated and difficult to explain.”
The machine with the irregularities has been taken out of service, and all remaining machines were tested and found to be correct according to Phillips. But that assurance does not appear to have assuaged several voters who felt their concerns about the incomplete ballots were not appropriately addressed and expressed their frustration at the inability to cast votes in several races.
One voter who noticed the sections for Criminal Court and Circuit Court Judges were missing from her ballot brought it to the attention of an election official, who “mentioned that it may be that I don’t live in the district that allows me to vote for them.” But she didn’t think that explanation made sense.
“I submitted the ballot begrudgingly. I knew that I did not get the chance to vote for the people I wanted to vote for,” said the voter. “I do think that the vote, especially for the Criminal Court Judges, is going to be very skewed and it’s not going to be correct because several of us were not even able to cast a vote.”
She also said she contacted the Election Commission and is filing a complaint.
“I feel we’re not getting the full story of the problems that were had in this early voting cycle, and we as citizens need to know what’s going on and get to the bottom of the matter,” said Kermit Moore, President of the NAACP Memphis Branch.
As early voting is now concluded, none of the 300 affected voters will have the opportunity to make selections in the missing races, as there is likely no opportunity for correction like there was for the 700 absentee voters, prompting further questions about the security and reliability of election machines and those tasked with making sure they run properly.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Just another in a long line of election problems from across the state that, unfortunately, will possibly be ignored.
Problems with elections are not limited to Shelby County. We have an abundance of them here in Williamson County, where election officials have refused to address them… at the very least by removing the highly risky electronic voting machines – ballot marking devices and scanner/tabulators – that aren’t inspected internally for nefarious components either before, during or after an election.
Tennessee Voters for Election Integrity has researched a number of election concerns as explained with receipts in this one-pager: https://tennesseeelectionintegrity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Election-integrity-in-one-page-4-032726.pdf.