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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
An attempt to secure elections in Tennessee was stymied by outrage from Democrats and liberal ideologues.
Inconsistencies found between voter rolls and information from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security prompted the state’s Coordinator of Elections to send out 14,000 letters in a bid to secure the state’s elections earlier this year.
The letter from Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins noted that the recipient’s voter information matched with individuals who may not have been United States citizens at the time of obtaining a Tennessee driver license or ID card, and gave an opportunity to confirm citizenship.
As drivers licenses are updated every 8 years, it is possible that some newly naturalized citizens failed to update their records with the state at the time they became citizens. The letter gave an option to update records by providing a photocopy of a birth certificate, passport, or other document showing proof of citizenship. A postage paid envelope was sent with the letter.
The Division of Elections received proof of United States citizenship from a little over 3,000 Tennesseans, and 307 people in all asked to be removed from the state’s voter rolls.
Nowhere in the letter was it stated that providing proof of citizenship was mandatory but leaders of the Democratic Party in the Tennessee General Assembly were nevertheless outraged and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU) threatened a lawsuit.
The ACLU told the state late last month that it planned to sue unless state officials clarified to voters that they could not lose their voter registration if they chose to ignore the letter.
Representing 11 advocacy organizations, the ACLU argued that the letter was a means to intimidate voters.
By sending a letter to these specific individuals and referring to Tennessee code that states that it is a felony for non U.S. citizens to vote in local, state, or federal elections, the ACLU claimed the state discriminated against naturalized citizens and violated the National Voter Registration Act, the Voting Rights Act and the 14th and 15th amendments.
State officials sent a follow up letter to clear up any misunderstandings.
“The June 13 letter gave people the option to update their records. It did not threaten to remove a person from the voter list if a person does not respond to the June 13 letter,” wrote Goins. “No one will be removed from a voting list for not responding to the June 13 letter.”
Those Tennesseans who did provide the state with documentation proving citizenship received a letter from the Secretary of State that encouraged them to vote in the upcoming primary on August 1st, and election on November 5th, 2024.
The ACLU took issue with 1,253 letters sent to the ZIP code 37013 in Southeast Nashville, and another 645 letters sent to 37211, areas encompassing Antioch known for higher populations of Black and brown Tennesseans.
According to the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office, letters were sent to nearly 500 of the state’s 620 ZIP codes, with around a dozen letters sent out of state.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
10 Responses
Why Did NONE of the RINOS Stand Up and Support Voter ID Prove?
Ignore the Dems and ACLU (same thing). let them sue. Don’t act scared.
Because, as always, TN “Republicans” are pussy cucks and traitors, one and all.
Tennessee is blue in the government.
The writer might just have been too angry to double check his work. While we’re at it, why not address the crux of the piece which shows the Democrats winning again. If you agree with them, say so. I don’t and think their dead wrong.
What a crock of you know what. As soon as the ACLU brings this up, the State immediately sends out clarification when it did nothing wrong. BTW, they should be suing the government; who the hell doesn’t change the voter rolls when someone becomes a citizen? Isn’t that the job of someone who maintains the voter rolls? God, please help us.
I get text messages and emails multiple times per week from demoncrats, even from other states, who are soliciting donations from me. I wish i knew how they got my information, as i have always been registered Republican and very much conservative.
Go to the Federal Election Commission gov website and see if you are shown making donations to democrats and if you did not, you can request a refund of all the funds donated in your name. Some groups are using peoples information to make illegal donations to democrat groups. But if they used your name and address they have no way to dispute that the money is not yours. FEC website is easy, but it is just slow to return search results as the database probably has billions of records to search. Google smurfing for more info.
Why don’t we have to show our voter registration when voting? They want my driver license and ask me my address. That’s all. I say vote in person, require id and voter registration, which both match. We know 2020 was fraud, and it will be again in 2024.
Why are we allowing non citizens to vote in ANY ELECTION? Try and go to Canada and vote. I hope Trump gets the DOJ to change this.