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The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
A proposal by Republican lawmakers seeks to create a new process by which local candidates can challenge the results of an election prior to the certification of the election if they believe errors were made in the election’s administration.
SB2164/HB2568, called the “Election Integrity Act of 2026”, would prevent a local election from being certified if a challenge is filed by a candidate in that election. Only the election being challenged would be affected and any other elections on the ballot could be certified by standard procedure.
The legislation defines a “local election” as “a general election for a public office of a county or city, including elections for members of local boards of education.”
A candidate may issue a challenge to the election results if they have a “reason to believe errors were made in the administration of the election”, though the bill does not specify what scenarios might constitute such an error.
Under the legislation, if a candidate wishes to challenge the election results, they must file the challenge in writing with the county election commission that administered the election within 10 business days of the election. The election commission must then investigate the claims of the challenge within 15 days of receiving the written challenge.
All evidence gathered by the county election commission as part of the investigation would be sent to the state election commission who would have 21 business days upon receipt of the evidence to decide the results of the challenge.
If the state election commission finds the challenge has no merit or that the claims do have merit but that the errors in admiration would not change the election’s outcome, then the challenger will be provided an explanation of the decision and the county election commission will proceed with certifying the election.
Should the state election commission decide that the challenging candidate’s claims do have merit and the errors may change the outcome of the election then a special election will be ordered.
Though it may sound like an attempt to enact a more efficient or fair process, conservatives may wish to keep a close watch on this legislation as its primary Senate sponsor, Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville-District 7), has sponsored or been instrumental in the passage of controversial election-related bills in the past.
The House companion is carried by Rep. Sabi “Doc” Kumar (R-Springfield-District 66). Neither version of the bill has been put on its respective committee’s calendar yet.
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
Sounds good but anything Briggs does is suspect.