Final article in a series of three. Read the first installment here, and the second here.
Image Credit: Gage Skidmore / CC
By David Seal [Special to The Tennessee Conservative] –
Kathy Harms addressed the topic of election integrity and demonstrated a paper ballot printed on currency grade stock that includes 8 security features. Her address to the summit included several state constitutional references and dire warnings of election irregularities that are likely to occur if state legislators fail to act.
Harms said, “In Tennessee we are on a trajectory that other States have sadly experienced in elections. Those States, such as Arizona, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and others are fighting to unwind the web of opaque processes that have jeopardized elections in their States. Specifically, Tennessee is on a fast track to force counties to use more vulnerable electronic voting systems. These systems lack transparency and provide no third-party audit process to ensure voting integrity. As electronic systems increase in usage, they have enabled another initiative called the ‘Vote Center’ that will obliterate the ‘Precinct Vote’ system as outlined in the Tennessee State Constitution. They limit locations, create long lines, and create more vulnerabilities to the process. While recent errors in Davidson County were excused by re-districting, this is obviously not an isolated incident as other counties are requesting more electronic systems to avoid making this same error.
Precinct Voting, as designated in our Constitution, is not only more secure, but it has been affirmed as fair and equal in a recent SCOTUS decision. The electronic voting systems that our Secretary of State and elected officials have advocated for are more unpopular with every election cycle. Instead of being responsive to citizen concerns, officials in Tennessee have doubled down on their efforts to foist these systems on Tennesseans. Many of us have advocated for a secure, hand marked paper ballot system of voting, in precincts, and on a single Election Day.
This session a bill was brought forward to return to our Tennessee Constitution’s definition of a single Election Day. That bill was rejected by the General Assembly. Well-founded concerns, raised by Tennesseans and validated by events in other states, are being gaslit by our leaders. While Tennessee has some great processes, such as voter ID and controlled absentee ballots, a secure system requires more. We hope that our legislators will adhere to our State Constitutional design of Precinct Voting and to secure our elections with hand marked hand counted paper ballots. They are welcome to attend our Behind the Curtain Tennessee event on March 11th in Franklin. Experts from around the country that we have collaborated with will be presenting the solutions to these vulnerabilities.” ~Kathy Harms
All presenters and vendors expressed great appreciation to Kelli O’Connor, Founder of Empowered Sevier, for organizing the event.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman,
917 Society Volunteer, and current Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level.
