Tre Hargett, Tennessee's Republican Secretary of State, Refuses To Implement Verifiable Voting Law
NASHVILLE - Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester renewed his call for Secretary of State Tre Hargett to purchase new voting machines that count paper ballots after a Davidson County judge today ruled the machines do not have to meet 2005 certification standards.
Chancellor Russell Perkins issued his ruling after Common Cause Tennessee filed a lawsuit compelling the secretary of State to implement 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.
“Mr. Hargett cannot use the bogus claim anymore that the machines do not exist,” Forrester said. “Now maybe he will follow the law and do the job he was sworn to do. Fair and verifiable elections are part of the very foundations of our democracy. I do not understand why he is stalling on this issue.
“The state has more than $35 million in federal funding set aside to purchase these machines. That’s more than enough money to purchase the machines and train workers. In fact, these machines have been cited in study after study as being less costly in maintenance than the electronic touch-screen machines now in use by most of the state’s 95 counties.”
Hargett based his argument concerning certification standards on a memorandum issued by the General Assembly’s Office of Legal Services, which opines to whether the law mandates machines purchased adhere to 2005 standards adopted by the federal Election Assistance Commission. EAC standards are voluntary standards.
“The TVCA does not require the voting system to be implemented by the State of Tennessee to meet 2005 standards,” the judge ruled. “The Court determines that the State is obligated to take prompt, effective steps to meet the statutory deadline using compliant voting systems.”
