Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, speaking in Chattanooga Tuesday on National Voter Registration Day, said there have been some misconceptions about the state's new voter registration law, recently blocked by a federal judge from taking effect Oct. 1.
"What I want to make clear is that we've got to focus on the voter," Hargett said. "The voter is trying to turn in a form and register to vote, and if you're doing a voter registration drive, you owe it to that individual to make sure that voter registration form is complete so we can actually get that person registered."
"Let's also keep in mind, the law that was passed only applied to paid voter registration drives," Hargett said, stressing the word, "paid."
An individual Tennessee resident is free to give a voter registration form to anyone, he said.
"If you take a voter registration form to your neighbor, or your Sunday school class, or the soccer fields or whatever, that law didn't apply to you and I think that's been missing from the discussion," Hargett said. "Nothing prevents you from handing someone a voter registration form."
A federal judge on Sept. 12 temporarily blocked Tennessee's new voter registration law, which places restrictions on groups involved in voter registration drives, from taking effect.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Social Impact Coordinator Ana Mancebo works at her desk at La Paz Chattanooga on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 in Chattanooga, Tenn.Hargett, a Republican, has pushed for the law that requires voter registration groups to register and undergo state training, and organizations that pay workers to sign up voters would be subject to fines for submitting too many incomplete registration forms, among other restrictions.
Groups in 2018 drew complaints from Republican election officials in Shelby and Davidson counties who complained they were deluged with tens of thousands of last-minute voter registration forms. In some cases, forms submitted by groups were incomplete or faulty yet turned in anyway.
"If you turn in a form that's half done, you really haven't helped that voter, have you?" Hargett said. "We're trying to encourage completeness in helping the voter instead of people not taking that job seriously."
National Voter Registration Day aims to encourage participation in elections, he said.
"We want people to take advantage of the opportunity to register to vote," Hargett said.
"We have a robust online voter registration system. Recently, we mailed out about 5,000 posters to businesses and organizations across the state to try to get them to put those in high-trafficked areas so people can know about online voter registration," he said. "It's safe, secure and simple."
Hargett said people should take a friend or neighbor with them to register.
"Find somebody else that's not registered," he said, "because it's one thing for the secretary of state to say people ought to register to vote, but you carry more weight in your own sphere of influence than I do."
Accountability is the goal, he said.
"I believe at the end of the day when we get people to register to vote and they vote, that's how we hold our form of government accountable," Hargett said. "It's a critical piece of how we govern in this state, in this country."
The secretary of state was in Hamilton County on Tuesday to present a $20,000 technology grant to the Chattanooga Public Library and a $4,752 technology grant to the Collegedale Public Library.
Registration assistance
La Paz Chattanooga - a local social service agency that works to empower and engage Chattanooga's Latino population - had English and Spanish speaking staff available Tuesday to assist citizens in the voter registration process.
Lily Sanchez, communications coordinator at La Paz, said it's important to encourage eligible Latinos to register, because the population is underrepresented in politics. Tuesday's effort was to encourage civic engagement and remove barriers, such as language, that may prevent people from registering to vote, she said.
"Our role is to act as a safe space for these people to come and learn," Sanchez said.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Communications Coordinator Lily Sanchez speaks to the Times Free Press at La Paz Chattanooga on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 in Chattanooga, Tenn.Citizenship is often the biggest barrier, she said. People often don't understand that only citizens, not legal residents, are eligible to vote. Another barrier is morale and convincing people that their votes are important, she said, since many of the people La Paz serves come from rural areas in Latin America where they're not used to exercising the right to vote.
"It's a little new to them, and they're kind of just trying to get their bearings," she said.
"If they qualify, we teach them why it's important and what it affects ... luckily, the people who are starting to become more engaged within this community are the children ... first-generation teenagers are understanding the ramifications of not exercising that right."
Sanchez said La Paz can help people determine their eligibility and register to vote on other days, too, and it only takes a few minutes.
She said the Trump administration's immigration policies have energized many of those with legal status to educate and encourage others to become more engaged.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.
Contact Elizabeth Fite at efite@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6673.