Keith Talley

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester called yesterday's action by the Senate to delay the Tennessee Voters Confidence Act a partisan move by Republican leadership to deny the state's voters fair and accurate elections.

"Tennessee voters got the shaft today by a shameless group of Republican politicians bent on winning at all costs," Forrester said. "They evidently could care less about trampling on democracy. I hope voters understand they have been had by a group of politicians who cooked up an elaborate scheme to steal elections here in Tennessee.

"Their claim that this was only about saving taxpayer money is a bogus one. We have $35 million already set aside in federal funds to buy this equipment and train workers on it. To knowingly mislead the public about this issue is wrong and a disservice to the state."

State lawmakers overwhelmingly passed in 2008 the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act, which requires all county election commissions to make the switch to optical scan machines and paper ballots before the November 2010 elections.

Last year, Secretary of State Tre Hargett spearheaded efforts to delay implementation of the law, claiming he could not find properly certified machines in time for the 2010 elections. The Senate failed to pass the delaying tactic, but Republican state Sens. Ron Ramsey and Bill Ketron vowed to delay the law at the beginning of this year's session, which began on Tuesday (Jan. 12).

"Some of the Republicans in the state Legislature's leadership were emboldened by what happened in 2008 when they gained majorities in both chambers," Forrester said. "So they figured the best way to maintain their majorities was to control who and how the ballots are counted."

The nonpartisan group Common Cause Tennessee even sued the secretary of state, state Election Coordinator Mark Goins and the state Election Commission for failing to implement the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act. A Davidson County judge agreed with TVCA proponents and ruled in November "that the State is obligated to take prompt, effective steps to meet the statutory deadline using compliant voting systems."

"Yesterday's action by the Senate's Republican leadership just goes to show you how some of them think," Forrester said. "If you don't like the rules, change them."

Republicans now control all 95 county election commissions where many local election administrators have been replaced. A federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the ousted election administrators, contending Republicans violated their constitutional rights by conspiring to treat their jobs as political patronage. The federal suit coincides with several other pending lawsuits filed in state chancery courts by individual county election administrators who were fired.

"I believe that the Republican leadership in the General Assembly is involved in a conspiracy to steal elections through intimidation, fraud and denying basic constitutional rights," Forrester said. "Mr. Hargett, Mr. Ketron and Mr. Ramsey should be ashamed of what they have done."

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Keith Talley TNDP Communications Director keith@tndp.org Read this story on the TNDP Blog: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102937916253&s=9970&e=001Ymykn0jwX8glEqRk2Dh8gk_HtS-qfHtkJzybDdkCtPMHRXojylVXypFyeX2P1jaE60S6fH3jTgbMfb-0LWU8uMKdIQoU7EOu5J0ioAI6z48=