NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Senate on Thursday passed legislation that could subject some large groups involved in voter registration efforts to civil – and possibly criminal – charges as well as fines if they submit too many incomplete or incorrect registration and pay canvassers based on how many people they register.
The bill has drawn fire from critics both within Tennessee and nationally. They charge it is a racist effort to suppress primarily black voters after what is said to be the most organized effort the state has seen during the 2018 election.
It passed the Republican-led Senate on a 25-6 vote. Minor differences adopted in the Senate means the previously passed House bill must go back to the lower chamber for agreement before it’s sent to Republican Gov. Bill Lee.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett and his state election coordinator, Mark Goins, brought the bill to fellow Republicans in the legislature after what they said were massive problems in last November’s election.
Both complained that organized groups, primarily the Tennessee Black Voter Project – which used paid workers and submitted 10,000 voter registrations forms in Shelby County – had submitted hundreds of incomplete and inaccurate forms and needed reining in.