Resolution To Fund Additional Voting Machines In Williamson County Fails In County Commission By One Vote

Photo Credit: Kelly M. Jackson

The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –

This week, the Williamson County Commission was presented with a resolution, one on a list of twenty-eight, that requested the remainder of the funds that The Williamson County Elections Commission were short on to purchase new voting machines before the upcoming election year. 

The issue that voters have with this purchase is that it involves spending more taxpayer money to purchase new machines that are programmed in the exact same way as the faulty Dominion machines that malfunctioned during the Franklin Alderman race in 2021, now known nearly nationwide as the “Williamson County Incident.”

An incident so well known that it has recently influenced brand new legislation in Arizona, SCR 1037. The Arizona bill compels a new list of requirements for their voting systems due to the “anomaly” that occurred where Dominion scanners mislabeled valid ballots as provisional. Those ballots were subsequently not counted in the poll report totals. 

A formal investigation into the incident concluded that it was rooted in “erroneous code” present in the Dominion system being used. 

The investigation had no clear answers as to how that code made its way into the voting machines systems, and there were no answers as to how this wasn’t detected ahead of the election during the certification process.

It is due to these gaps in understanding what exactly went wrong with the machines, that created a movement to rid Williamson County of them, altogether.

Instead, Williamson County, despite voter feedback, has simply exchanged the Dominion systems for ES&S voting machines, which have the same system format and are subject to the same vulnerabilities. 

Based on information from grassroots voter integrity groups, people have overwhelmingly expressed their desire to change the current system, which is dependent of ballot marking machines and tabulators, to one that is anchored in hand-marked paper ballots. 

It is this tug-of-war between the voters, the grassroots organizations that represent them and The Williamson County Elections Commission that prompted attendance from many of the county’s concerned citizens. 

Ten speakers were allowed to give their appeals to the commission, stating their reasons for why they were asking the commission to reject the request to fully fund the purchase of the machines. The state of Tennessee is providing the lion’s share of the funding, provided when the Secretary of State’s office compelled Williamson County to remove the Dominion machines and lease different machines at the cost of about $800,000 to the taxpayers.

Several of the Commissioners had questions and or comments for Chairman of the EC, Mr. Jonathan Duda.  Among the commissioners who did address Mr. Duda, a general theme was heard across the board: “we received overwhelming communication from voters in our districts and they all say they don’t want these machines. So, our answer is no.”

It was pointed out during the question-and-answer session, that any precinct with more than 300 voters is required by law to have machinery to assist in the voting process. This can be a simple tabulator that counts hand-marked paper ballots, an option which is not objected to by grassroots voter integrity groups. 

What the Elections Commission is asking for is funding for ballot marking machines, which is the primary source of contention among voters who voiced concerns.

After about an hour of discussion and debate, a vote was called, which required a majority vote of at least 13 votes from the commission. While the votes in favor of adopting the resolution outnumbered those against, because there were only 12 votes, the resolution failed. 

Now, the Elections Commission will have to go about getting the rest of the funding through other government mechanisms, namely, getting the rest of the money from the state, or taking the county to chancery court, which they indicated they intend to do. 

We will keep readers updated on any new developments in the story as they occur.

About the Author: Kelly Jackson is a recent escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers. She has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member.  Outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.