Tennessee’s Last Chance For Passage Of Meaningful Voter Integrity Legislation This Session Killed By RINOs In Committee

Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –

This week, a bill that would have been an opportunity for substantive voter roll cleanup, greatly increasing voter integrity in the state of Tennessee, was killed by the House Finance, Ways, and Means subcommittee and taken off notice for this session, ending any possibility that it could be heard and passed on the House floor. 

HB0835 as introduced, requires the coordinator of elections to compare the statewide voter registration database with those of other relevant state agencies and county records when compiling information to distribute to the county elections commissions for purposes of purging voters who have moved; requires the coordinator of elections to compare the statewide voter registration database with the department of safety database to ensure non-United States citizens are not registered to vote in this state. – Amends TCA Section 2-2-106 and Section 2-2-141.

The bill is sponsored by Representative Bryan Richey (R-D20-Maryville) who informed The Tennessee Conservative of the status of the legislation yesterday.

Richey conveyed that his bill was, in his words, “hijacked” without his consent, and taken off notice for the remainder of the session.

He was told he can revive the effort next session, but Tennesseans will have to wait until early next year to see any action accomplished, which Richey finds unacceptable. 

Richey said, “Finance, Ways, & Means decided to take my election integrity bill off notice. Even after having a conversation that the amendment would remove the fiscal note. The chair decided to push this bill to next year. This move weakens our election integrity that was in place up until last year.” 

In this session, establishment members of the General Assembly have failed to pass, and even actively moved to eliminate any substantive efforts on election integrity.

As previously reported, one of the most prominent pieces that was introduced earlier in the session was a bill also sponsored by Representative Richey. HB0405, was killed in the House Local Government Committee through the use of a “voice vote.” The vote was miscounted by the chair, Representative John Crawford (R-D1-Bristol/Kingsport), and declared dead for lack of support. 

These are just two of many examples this session of what seems to be an active campaign by the establishment republicans in the General assembly to undermine grassroots endeavors for voter integrity and the legislators who care enough about the will of the people to sponsor them. 

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.