On July 28, 1860, Republican Missouri Attorney General James B. Gardenhire said there are three things we need to be careful about: the freedom of the press, the freedom of speech and the purity of the ballot box.
While other states chose to diminish the purity of the ballot box, Tennessee’s elections were free of the controversy seen in other states. Tennessee election laws proved to protect the integrity of our elections, and Tennessee voters demonstrated their confidence, in the face of the pandemic, by turning out in record numbers.
Registering to vote and voting in Tennessee has never been easier. A record number of 4.4 million Tennesseans are registered voters in large part to the GOP-led Tennessee Online Voter Registration law, enacted by the General Assembly in 2016. This law put into place an easy and secure way to register to vote or to update a voter’s registration. Eligible Tennesseans can access it from their cellphone, tablet or laptop at GoVoteTN.gov. This system works and does so without compromising the security of our voter rolls.
While some states opted to reduce the number of polling places or reduce access to in-person voting, Tennessee’s dedicated election officials worked to ensure that in-person voting was preserved. In addition to continuing Tennessee’s robust early voting periods, Republicans have begun testing voting convenience centers that allow voters to vote at any polling place, not just their home precinct on Election Day.
In 2020, Tennesseans demonstrated their continued preference for in-person voting. As a result, Tennessee voters set a new early voting turnout record. To ensure this effort’s success, the General Assembly passed a law I sponsored in March 2020, making it easier for more Tennesseans to be poll officials. This law’s success led to polling locations being properly staffed.