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”