Bill To Improve Reporting Of Death Records In Relation To Voter Rolls Fails In Subcommittee

Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

One of the bills aimed at cleaning up voter rolls this legislative session failed in the House Elections and Campaign Finance Subcommittee yesterday after a voice vote.

House Bill 0246 (HB0246) would have provided parameters around a timeframe of when the Coordinator of Elections must obtain information regarding the deceased, making the practice standard across all state election commissions. State law does not currently specify when the Coordinator of Elections must obtain this information.

One possible reason for why the bill failed was its fiscal note. Bill sponsor Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson-District 69) questioned the accuracy of the note which would increase local expenditures by $173,100 in fiscal year 23-24 and $70,100 in fiscal year 24-25 and subsequent years.

The proposed legislation would have required both the Coordinator of Elections and county election commissions to retain an electronic and a paper copy of all reports for a minimum of 24 months. This would have meant an update to the records system of all state election commissions. This could have been accomplished without an increase in expenditures in all but three counties.

Updating the system in Knox County would have required a one-time increase of $1,500, in Davidson County – $15,575, and in Shelby County – $86,000.

According to the fiscal note, county election commissions being required to print and store physical and electronic copies of all reports, and to publish public notices prior to the destruction of purged voter records, would have resulted in a recurring increase in local expenditures of $70,068 in FY23-24 and subsequent years. 

The Division of Elections would also have been required to print and store physical copies of the reports, which would have created a recurring increase in state expenditures of $780 in FY23-24 and subsequent years. The state would have needed to update its AES voter registration record system, which is maintained by Strategic Technology Solutions, a one-time increase in state expenditures of $4,500, and a corresponding increase in state revenue to Strategic Technology Solutions of $4,500, in FY23-24.

We have reached out to members of the subcommittee to ask how they voted and we will update this article with any responses we receive. Representative Clay Doggett was the only member of the subcommittee that requested to be recorded as voting Aye.

Subcommittee Chairman Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro-District 34) told us that, “The Secretary of  State, Department of Elections has an agreement with Tennessee Department of Health (vital statistics) to access their records to maintain a secure voter database and purge deceased voters from active rolls. To release the information at the time and in the way the legislation required would violate that agreement and could put access to that information at risk.”

Senate Bill 0137 (SB0137) that deals with voters who have moved and also makes sure that non-U.S. citizens are not registered to vote in the state is to be heard in the Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar on March 28th 2023. The companion bill in the House,  House Bill 0835 (HB0835) goes to the Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee on March 29th, 2023.

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.