In November 2022, the Davidson County Election Commission failed to properly issue ballots for the upcoming state and federal congressional elections. Redistricting splintered previous precincts in Davidson County, leading to some voters being grouped in the wrong districts. Two hundred or more voters were unable to cast their ballots in the congressional district in which they reside due to receiving an incorrect ballot during early voting.
On November 4, 2022, the ACLU of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against the Davidson County Election Commission on behalf of the League of Women Voters and two individual voters who were given incorrect ballots, Anna Carella and Nella Frierson.
Later that day, the ACLU-TN reached an agreement with the Secretary of State, Governor Lee, and the Davidson County Election Commission to protect the right to vote of hundreds, if not thousands, of Davidson County voters who could have been unable to vote in their races for their districts.
The agreement ensured that special paper ballots would be available for all of the people who were identified as residing in compromised districts, at both the correct and incorrect precinct locations; that the people who already voted in the wrong district would have an opportunity to enter provisional ballots indicating who they would have voted for had they voted in the right district, and that those provisional ballots would be consulted if the election is contested after the fact; that the state will conduct a full audit and review of the scope of the issue so that similar situations can be prevented in the future; and that the Election Commission will preserve items such as the district maps originally in use during this election for future review.
The ACLU of Tennessee and the League of Women Voters of Tennessee will continue to monitor elections across the state.
PLAINTIFF(S):
League of Women Voters of Tennessee, Anna Carella, and Nella Frierson
DEFENDANT(S):
Davidson County Election Commission, Davidson County Elections Administrator Jeff Roberts, Governor Bill Lee, Secretary of State Tre Hargett, Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins
ATTORNEY(S):
ACLU- TN: Stella Yarbrough, Lucas Cameron-Vaughn, Jeff Preptit
