Tennessee: GOP moves to repeal Tennessee paper ballot law | The Tennessean

A plan to require paper ballots in next year’s elections is on the verge of being repealed, the latest in a series of actions taken by Republicans in the state legislature to rewrite Tennessee election laws.

State representatives are trying to reverse most of a 2008 law that called for the replacement of electronic voting machines across the state with paper ballots read by computerized scanners. The move would kill off a plan that supporters say would create a verifiable record of votes but opponents say will be costly and open to tampering.

Tennessee: Sumner County leaders oppose possible paper ballot mandate in Tennessee | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

Members of the Sumner County Commission recently voted to send a proposal to state legislators to either repeal or fund a bill currently being considered that mandates the use of paper ballots in local elections.

“We just purchased new machines that are electronic, and if they mandate paper ballots we’ll have to go to a new system,” County Executive Anthony Holt said. “It could be in the range of $300,000 to buy the new required scanning machines and have them stored. That’s going to be a huge fiscal impact.”

Tennessee: GOP majority revising state election laws – Voter ID bills among proposals to amend process | Knoxville News Sentinel

Mandating photo identification for voting is just one part of a reshaping of Tennessee election laws by the Legislature’s Republican majority that also includes resolution of a three-year dispute over installing new voting machines statewide.

In a compromise last week, Republicans backed off of bills to repeal outright the Voter Confidence Act of 2008, which mandated use of $37 million in federal funds to place machines providing a paper trail for ballots in all 95 Tennessee counties.

Tennessee: Tennessee House Passes Voter ID Bill Despite Constitutional Questions | Nashville Public Radio

The Tennessee House of Representatives approved a bill Thursday that would require voters to show a photo ID at the polls. The passage came despite a state Attorney General’s opinion that the measure would likely be ruled a “poll tax” by a court

The state attorney general’s opinion released this week that says the courts are likely to find the bill unconstitutional if it costs something in order to qualify to vote. Such “poll taxes” were used in the Reconstruction South to deny the vote to former slaves.

Tennessee: Tennessee Attorney General’s Opinion Flags Voter ID Bill | Nashville Public Radio

A proposal to require Tennessee voters to present a photo ID at their polling place ran into a speed bump at the state capitol Wednesday. Tennessee’s attorney general issued an opinion saying that the Voter ID bill would likely be found unconstitutional.

Representative Craig Fitzhugh, the House Democratic Leader, was one of the lawmakers who requested the Attorney General’s opinion. “I mean it’s a violation of both the U.S. Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution.”

Tennessee: Tennessee House panel passes mandate for photo ID for voters » Knoxville News Sentinel

Democratic legislators argued Tuesday that if Republicans are going to mandate a photo identification for voting, the state should provide free identification cards to those who cannot afford them.

The argument did not work – at least for now -with the GOP majority on the House State and Local Government Committee, which proceeded to approve the “voter ID” bill, HB007, on a voice vote. The bill has already passed the Senate on a 21-11 party-line vote. Tuesday’s action effectively clears the measure for a House floor vote.

Tennessee: Tennessee Voter Confidence Act May Be Delayed Again | WSMV Nashville

The state of Tennessee is supposed to move to using only paper ballots by the time voters head to the polls in 2012. But some lawmakers are looking to stop that, saying that communities just can’t afford to make the switch. The Tennessee Voter Confidence Act has already been delayed once, but it could be delayed again or done away with completely, and those who support paper ballots said that could put votes in jeopardy of being compromised.

The Voter Confidence Act originally required everyone in Tennessee to use paper ballots to cast their vote by the 2010 election.”Having an independent audit trail is key to any fair election,” said Joe Irrera, a paper ballot advocate. But early last year, lawmakers delayed implementation until 2012, saying election officials needed more time.

Tennessee: Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett cites people as culprits | Cleveland Daily Banner

There were no comments while Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett presented a brief overview of his job — until he began talking about elections. After his speech Thursday in front of the Kiwanis Club of Cleveland, a member said the voting machines used in Tennessee do not have a recorded paper trail and could be hacked in five minutes.

“I don’t think they can be hacked in five minutes, but there is no perfect machine,” he said. “As long as we have people who want to commit fraud, they are going to find a way to commit it regardless of what kind of machine we have. Machines are not the culprit. People are the culprit”