Gallatin City Council Proposes De-Annexation of a Single Property, Eliminating the Owner as a Candidate for Gallatin City Council

The Gallatin City Council made a proposal at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday evening to de-annex the property of a resident who pulled a petition as a candidate in the November election for the Gallatin City Council earlier that same day.

De-annexing the property would effectively eliminate the owner from running in a city election.

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Tennessee-Based Nurse Freedom Network Hosting ‘Healthcare Homecoming’ Featuring Dr. Peter McCullough

The Tennessee-based Nurse Freedom Network is hosting a Healthcare Homecoming Saturday and Sunday, June 11 and June 12 that will focus in restoring patients’ rights and truth in medicine and will feature the world-renowned Dr. Peter McCullough.

The free event, held Saturday from 3 to 8 p.m. at The Shed, located at the Factory in Franklin, Tennessee and will include around two dozen speakers and entertain. A fundraising dinner with Dr. Peter McCullough that will support the Nurse Freedom Network will be held Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Historic Maple Lawn in Brentwood.

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Madison County Republican Mayoral Nominee Sought Votes from Democrats, Independents in Republican Party Primary

Evidence points to the Madison County Republican mayoral nominee pursuing and receiving votes from Democrats and independents in the Republican Party primary held on May 3.

A.J. Massey in a three-way race won the Republican primary for Madison County mayor with just over 50 percent of the nearly 10,000 votes cast in the primary that saw 19 percent turnout, according to Madison County’s election results.

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Deployment of Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes in Georgia Looks Significantly Different in First Statewide Election Since January 2021

With the Georgia General Assembly’s passage of the Election Integrity Act of 2021, otherwise known as SB202, the application of absentee ballot drop boxes looks significant different in the first statewide elections since the January 5, 2021, federal runoff and special election for Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats.

The use of drop boxes in the November 2020 presidential and January 2021 elections were enabled by an emergency rule promulgated by the State Election Board in June of 2020. During the November 2020 election, more than 300 absentee ballot drop boxes were deployed throughout the state, funded with $45 million in “Zuck Bucks” that flowed through the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) into Georgia, according to analysis conducted by Capital Research Center.

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U.S. Election Assistance Commission Identifies Pierce County, Washington, for Best Practices in Chain of Custody for Vote-by-Mail Ballots Deposited in Drop Boxes

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) recognized Pierce County, Washington for its practices related to the chain of custody that helps track pick-up and chain of custody of vote-by-mail election ballots deposited in drop boxes.

Pierce County was an EAC “Clearie” Award winner in 2021 for outstanding innovations in elections for large jurisdictions. Having over 550,000 registered voters, Pierce County is Washington state’s second largest jurisdiction.

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Tennessee Legislature Votes to Grow State Government $3 Billion and 16 Percent More than the Growth of Tennesseans’ Incomes

Tennessee Capital building

Members of the Tennessee General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that acknowledges that the growth in state government this year exceeds the growth of Tennessean’s income by $3 billion, or 16 percent.

The action by the legislature is mandated by the Tennessee Constitution in Article II, Section 24 when state spending grows faster than its economy.

The measure, commonly known as the Copeland Cap, was named for its House sponsor of the constitutional amendment, the late Republican State Representative David Copeland of Ooltewah, who passed away in 2019.

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Metro Nashville Police Department Confirms Deputy Chief, Currently Running for Political Office, Under Two Internal Investigations

Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Deputy Chief Chris Taylor, who is currently running for political office, is under two separate internal investigations by the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA), the MNPD Public Affairs confirmed Thursday to The Tennessee Star.

The OPA is investigating a complaint received this year concerning Taylor wearing his uniform while off-duty in Sumner County as well as interaction with staff at the MNPD Training Academy, Public Affairs Director Don Aaron told The Star in an email.

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Tennessee Revenues for March $348.8 Million More than Budgeted, Annual Surplus Hits $2.5 Billion

Tennessee tax revenues for the month of March exceeded budgeted estimates by $348.8 million, putting the fiscal year surplus at $2.5 billion, reported Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Butch Eley in a statement Thursday.

March tax revenues totaling $1.6 billion were $286.8 million or 22.78 percent higher than the state received in March 2021.

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Tennessee General Assembly May Enable Illegal Immigrants to Acquire Commercial and Professional Licenses

The Tennessee General Assembly may be preparing to enable illegal immigrants to acquire commercial and professional licenses in the state.

The bill which could accomplish this, HB2309, narrowly passed in the Tennessee House of Representatives on Monday in a 56 to 35 vote, with 35 Republicans joining 15 Democrats and 3 Republicans present and not voting, led by bill sponsor State Rep. Bill Freeman (D-Nashville).

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Metro Nashville Police Department Deputy Chief Running for Political Office Appears to Be in Violation of Department Policy, Wearing Uniform Off-Duty

A Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Deputy Chief who is running for political office in his home of Sumner County, appears to be violating department policy by wearing his police uniform while off-duty.

MNPD Deputy Chief Chris Taylor, who as a resident of Sumner County is currently a member of the Sumner County Board of Commissioners, is running in the May 3 Republican primary for the office of Sumner County Mayor.

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Governor Kemp and Lt. Governor Duncan Block Key Election Integrity Measure to Unseal Ballots: VoterGA

A key integrity measure of unsealing election ballots in Georgia was blocked by Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan right before the Georgia Senate adjourned sine die on Monday, according to a press release from VoterGA.

The non-partisan, non-profit election integrity organization’s co-founder Garland Favorito detailed that Duncan’s subversive actions regarding SB89 were at the request of Kemp.

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Tennessee Republican Legislators Look to Strip Parents of Consent in Vaccinating Their Minor Children Against STDs, Parental Rights Watchdog Says

Bob Ramsey and Richard Briggs

Legislation sponsored by Republicans that is advancing through the Tennessee legislature would strip parents of their consent relative to their children receiving vaccines against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), a parental rights group said in a recent call to action.

Two bills with placeholder language, known as “caption” bills, caught the attention of Stand for Health Freedom (SHF), a nonprofit launched in 2019 that is dedicated to protecting basic human, constitutional and parental rights, according to the organization’s website.

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House Sponsor Holds Meeting to Hear Opponents of Bill That Preempts Local Governments from Prohibiting Energy Infrastructure, Legislation Advances in Tennessee Senate

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – A meeting to hear opponents of a bill that preempts local governments from prohibiting energy infrastructure was held Monday morning by the House bill sponsor. Meanwhile, the Senate version of the bill advanced through the committee process.

Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville), sponsor of HB2246, announced that he scheduled the meeting during the March 8 meeting of the House Commerce Committee he chairs. During the same committee meeting, Vaughan bid adieu to the Interstate Compact bill he also sponsored, The Tennessee Star reported.

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16 Months After the Election, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Makes New Claim About Why Trump Lost the Election in Georgia

The reason that President Trump lost in the state of Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is now claiming 16 months after the November 2020 general election, is that 28,000 Georgians skipped the race.

“The brutal truth is that 28,000 Georgians skipped the presidential race. And that’s why President Trump came up short,” Raffensperger said. Meanwhile, Georgians voted down-ballot for state representative, state senator, congressman, but did not vote for anyone for president, according to Raffensperger’s latest claim, Rome News-Tribune reported.

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Tennessee Revenues for February $212 Million More Than Budgeted

Tennessee tax revenues for February of $1.2 billion exceeded the budgeted estimate of $1.03 billion by $212 million or 20.6 percent, Commissioner of the Department Finance and Administration Butch Eley announced Friday.

February 2022 revenues were also $111.7 million more than what the state received in taxes in February 2021, reflecting a growth rate of nearly 10 percent.

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Proposed Legislation Would Eliminate State Court’s Deference to State Agencies in a Lawsuit

Legislation being considered by the Tennessee General Assembly would eliminate the current practice of state courts giving deference to state agencies in interpreting statutes or rules in a contested case. If passed, the law would require that state courts interpret the state or rule de novo or from the beginning or start.

Sen. Mike Bell (R-Riceville) presented the bill, SB2285, Wednesday to the Senate Government Operations Committee, of which he is a member. While committee members often present their bills from their usual chair, Bell told Chairman Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) he would be going to the podium, expecting he might be using his hands a bit.

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Tennessee House Sponsor Bids Adieu to His Proposed Interstate Compact Legislation

Legislation that would have entered Tennessee into an interstate compact with Arkansas and Mississippi for the greater Memphis region was bid adieu Tuesday by the sponsor during a House committee meeting.

State Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville), at the start of the House Commerce Committee he chairs, announced amidst the status of the 12 bills on the calendar, he wanted to say some words over his HB1989, “Before I bid it adieu.”

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Tennessee House Subcommittee Advances Legislation to Protect Students from Obscenity and Pornography in K-12 Schools

At the end of meetings of the Tennessee House Criminal Justice Subcommittee held over two consecutive weeks where impassioned testimony was heard from nearly two dozen witnesses on both sides of the argument, a bill that seeks to protect students from pornographic and obscene materials in K-12 schools advanced Wednesday to the full House Criminal Justice Committee.

More than two hours of testimony was heard Wednesday from 15 members of the public, in addition to nearly an hour and three witnesses who testified last week including country music star John Rich, The Tennessee Star reported.

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Slate of Proposed Legislation Seeks to Preserve, Protect and Properly Display Tennessee Historic Artifacts and Memorials

Three bills filed in the General Assembly seek to preserve, protect and properly display historic relics, artifacts and memorials primarily related to the Confederate States of America and Tennessee’s involvement during the War Between the States.

All three bills are sponsored in the state Senate by State Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) and in the state House by State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver (R-Lancaster) on behalf of the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ organization.

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Legislators Announce Formation of ‘Train Travel Caucus’ in Support of Expanding Taxpayer-Subsidized Amtrak into Tennessee

During the House floor session Thursday, legislators announced the formation of the Train Travel Caucus in the Tennessee General Assembly, in support of expanding the taxpayer-subsidized National Railroad Passenger Corporation, known as Amtrak, into Tennessee.

The announcement came from a Democrat lawmaker, Representative Jason Powell (D-Nashville), who is the House sponsor of HB2278. The bill directs the Tennessee Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) to study within its existing resources the cost, feasibility and infrastructure of expanding railroad passenger service in the state through the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak.

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In Presenting Bill for Interstate Compact with Arkansas and Tennessee, Mississippi Senator Omits Unelected Quasi-Governmental Entity’s Broad Powers Including Eminent Domain, Passes Senate Unanimously

During his presentations of a bill that would enter the state of Mississippi into an interstate compact with Arkansas and Tennessee, the Senate sponsor completely omitted that, if passed, the law would create an unelected quasi-governmental entity with very broad powers, including eminent domain. The bill went on to pass the state Senate unanimously on February 3.

SB2716, sponsored by Republican Senator David Parker (R-DeSoto), is a 17-page document that creates the RegionSmart Development District (District) and the RegionSmart Development Agency of the Greater Memphis Region (RegionSmart Development).

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Country Music Star John Rich Testifies Before Tennessee House Criminal Justice Committee on Pornographic Material in Schools

Country music singer-songwriter and Nashvillian John Rich testified before the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee Wednesday regarding legislation dealing with pornographic and obscene material in K-12 Tennessee schools.

According to the sponsor of HB1944, Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka), alluding to the turmoil expressed across the state, the bill creates a process to deal with such materials that have found their way into classrooms and libraries.

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Proposed Legislation Would Enter Tennessee into an Interstate Compact, Creating an Unelected Quasi-Governmental Entity with Broad Powers Including Eminent Domain

A bill scheduled to be heard by the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday would enter Tennessee into an interstate compact with Arkansas and Mississippi for the greater Memphis region, creating a quasi-governmental and public entity of unelected commissioners that will be vested with very broad powers, including eminent domain and condemnation of any and all rights or property.

If enacted, the legislation would create the RegionSmart Development District (District) and the RegionSmart Development (RegionSmart Development) Agency of the Greater Memphis Region.

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Congressman Jody Hice: Brad Raffensperger’s Mailing of Absentee Ballot Applications to Everyone on the “Grossly Inaccurate” Georgia Voter File for the November 2020 Election Was a “Horrible Decision That Majorly Impacted Our Election Process”

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s mailing of absentee ballot requests to everyone on the Georgia voter rolls for the November 3, 2020, presidential election, was a “a horrible decision that majorly impacted our election process,” Congressman Jody Hice (R-GA-10) told The Georgia Star News in a telephone interview Thursday, calling the voter registration file “grossly inaccurate.”

The November 3, 2020 presidential election results certified by Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp had Democratic candidate Joe Biden ahead of President Donald Trump by less than 12,000 votes out of 5 million votes cast, of which 1.3 million were fraud-prone absentee ballots.

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Fulton County May Not Have Retained Video Recordings Surveilling More Than 60,000 Absentee Ballots Deposited into Drop Boxes During the November 2020 Election

Downtown Atlanta

More than one year after the November 2020 presidential election, Fulton County election officials are offering conflicting accounts about whether video recordings, used to surveil drop boxes where absentee ballots were deposited in the November 2020 presidential election, have been destroyed and whether their actions comply with federal law that requires retention of all election records for 22 months.

The video recordings that may no longer exist would have monitored more than 60,000 absentee ballots being deposited into drop boxes during the majority 35 of the maximum 49 days drop boxes were allowed to have been deployed for the November 2020 presidential election.

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Mark Meadows Introduced as Keynote Speaker by Tennessee Congressman Mark Green at State Freedom Caucus Network Inaugural Gala in Georgia

ATLANTA, Georgia – Mark Meadows, Senior Partner with the Conservative Partnership Institute was introduced as the keynote speaker by Tennessee Congressman Mark Green at the State Freedom Caucus Network inaugural gala held Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead with about 200 people in attendance.

As The Star News reported, the State Freedom Caucus Network (SFCN) launched earlier on Tuesday at the Georgia state capitol, with seven members of the state legislature publicly announcing their membership in the Georgia Freedom Caucus.

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State Freedom Caucus Network Launches with Seven Named Members of the Georgia General Assembly

ATLANTA, Georgia – The newly formed State Freedom Caucus Network launched at the Georgia State Capitol, as the first state to join with seven named members of the Georgia General Assembly making the public announcement via a press conference Tuesday.

Led by Representative Philip Singleton (R-Sharpsburg), Georgia legislators named as Freedom Caucus members (pictured above in the front row) included fellow Representatives Timothy Barr (R-Lawrenceville), Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock), Emory Donahoo (R-Gillsville), and Sheri Gilligan (R-Cumming) as well as Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) (pictured above at the podium), who Singleton said is a founding member and first chairman of the Georgia Freedom Caucus as well as Burt Jones (R-Jackson), candidate for Lt. Governor.

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DeKalb County GOP Chair: Georgia Law Was Violated in November 2020 Election and Results Should Not Have Been Certified

During the November 3, 2020 presidential election, Georgia law was broken in DeKalb County and, as such, the results should never have been certified, according to the chair of the Republican Party there.

Marci McCarthy, head of the DeKalb County GOP since April 2021, told The Georgia Star News that the handling of absentee ballots in her home county during the November 2020 election violated Georgia law.

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Let’s Go Brandon Freedom Rally and Mask Burning Features Christian Conservative Rapper Bryson Gray

HARTSVILLE, Tennessee – The Let’s Go Brandon Freedom Rally and Mask Burning, held at Trey Park in Hartsville Saturday with a very diverse group of a couple hundred people in attendance, featured godfather of conservative rap Bryson Gray.

Gray is a Christian conservative MAGA – Make America Godly Again – rapper who moved from liberal North Carolina to Tennessee, and is probably best known for his ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ song. The song was banned by YouTube for “medical misinformation,” even though it contains none. Gray’s song went to number one on iTunes following the ban, so Gray released a new song, ‘Thanks, YouTube.”

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Stand for Tennessee PAC Fundraising Kick-Off Features Conservative Political Office Holders and Candidates

THOMPSON’S STATION, Tennessee — The kick-off fundraising event for the Stand for Tennessee Political Action Committee (PAC), held Tuesday evening at the Homestead Manor in Thompson’s Station, featured constitutional conservative political office holders and candidates.

Chairman of the PAC, Gary Humble told The Tennessee Star that approximately 325 people attended the event, which included a taco bar dinner, dessert and refreshments as well as live entertainment by Ben Calhoun.

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Sumner County Using Redistricting to Make Unprecedented Changes to County Commission Structure

Sumner County schools virtual meeting

The Sumner County Board of Commissioners is using redistricting required every 10 years following completion of the U.S. census in 2020 to potentially make significant and unprecedented changes to the county commission districts.

Sumner County currently has 12 county commission districts with two commissioners per district, but redistricting has opened the door to making 24 districts with one commissioner per district.

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Special Session Legislation Increases Safeguards Related to COVID-19, but Some Legislators Say Concessions for Big Business and the Federal Government Leave Tennesseans Unequally Protected

The legislation that emerged in Saturday’s early morning hours from the three days of the 112th Tennessee General Assembly’s Third Extraordinary Session provided a number of safeguards against COVID-19 mandates, but some legislators say concessions to accommodate big business and funding from the federal government also resulted in unequal protection for some Tennesseans against COVID mandates.

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Speakers Randy McNally and Cameron Sexton Create Omnibus Bill to Incorporate Most Other COVID-Related Legislation

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – While more than 80 bills in total were filed in each chamber of the Tennessee General Assembly, it was a bill filed by Lt. Governor and Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) that was amended to become an “omnibus” bill to incorporate provisions included in most of the other bills.
The bills were all filed for consideration during the Third Extraordinary Session of the Tennessee General Assembly focused on COVID-related issues which began Wednesday with organizational floor sessions of the House and Senate.

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Tennessee General Assembly Organizes for the Third Extraordinary Session Focused on COVID-Related Issues

The two chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly met Wednesday in floor session for less than an hour to organize for the Third Extraordinary Session of the 112th General Assembly, which will focus on COVID-related issues.

Special Session III was called on October 19 by Tennessee’s Lt. Governor and Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally and Speaker of the House of Representatives Cameron Sexton in response to the written request of two-thirds of the members of each house, even as legislators were engaged in the Second Extraordinary Session called by Governor Bill Lee taking up $884 million in taxpayer giveaways for Ford Motor Company’s $5.6 billion electric vehicle project to be located on the Memphis Regional Megasite known as “Blue Oval City.”

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Mollie Hemingway’s New Book, ‘Rigged,’ Reveals Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Enabled Asbentee Voting, Known to Favor Democrats

In a revealing look at the November 2020 election, “Rigged:  How the Media, Big Tech and the Democrats Seized Our Elections” number one best-selling author Mollie Hemingway’s new book released Tuesday explains how Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger through a number of actions enabled absentee voting that is known to favor Democrats.

With the number of questionable votes and election irregularities in the state, there is not only reason but evidence to question whether Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in the November 2020 election by an audit-lowered 11,779 vote margin is legitimate.

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State Election Commission Dismissive of Citizens’ Concerns About Election Integrity and Said the Issue of Paper Ballots Should be Taken Up with Legislators

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – While citizens spoke about issues related to election integrity before the State Election Commission at their regularly scheduled meeting Monday at the William R. Snodgrass Tower, commission members were defensive and dismissive of the citizens’ concerns and said that the issue of hand-marked paper ballots should be taken up with members of the Tennessee General Assembly.

There were about three dozen people in attendance at the meeting, not just from counties adjacent to Nashville such as Williamson and Rutherford, but as far as away as Cannon, Hamilton, Hardin and Putnam counties as well.

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Firebrand Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Featured Speaker at Wilson County Republican Party Trump Day Dinner

First-term and firebrand Congresswoman from Georgia’s 14th District was the featured speaker at the Wilson County Republican Party Trump Day Dinner held Thursday at the Farm Bureau Exposition Center on Baddour Parkway in Lebanon with nearly 400 people in attendance.

It was the largest event of its kind for the Wilson County GOP and coincides with the first time that Republican Party primaries will be held in the county.

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BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, a Near $1B Vendor to State Government and a TennCare Health Plan Contractor, Mandating Some Employees Get COVID-19 Vaccines and Not Allowing Religious Accommodation

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST), which received nearly $1 billion in vendor payments from the State of Tennessee during fiscal year 2021 related to state employee healthcare benefits and is one of the Managed Care Organizations handling the state’s TennCare program is enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate and not allowing religious accommodations for some of its employees.
Information was provided to The Tennessee Star by a long-term employee of BCBST, the Tennessee-based independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing their job.

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DeKalb County Voter Says Her Address Was Changed and an Absentee Ballot Requested to Steal Her Vote

In a case of what she says could be for no other purpose than vote stealing, a DeKalb County voter had her address changed and an absentee ballot requested for the November 3, 2020, presidential election, telling her story to The Georgia Star News exclusively in order to share the information with the public.

“Please get this information out – it is very important,” Mary Williams Benefield told The Star News.

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11 Months After 2020 Election Georgia Secretary of State Missing Chain of Custody Documents for 6,995 Absentee Ballots Deposited in Fulton County Drop Boxes

A review of transfer forms provided to The Georgia Star News in response to an open records request reveals that the Secretary of State’s office in Georgia is missing chain of custody documents for 6,995 absentee ballots deposited in drop boxes in Fulton County during the November 2020 election.

The number of absentee ballots for which the office has no evidence of the origination of the ballots represents 9 percent of the 79,460 total that Fulton County has recorded as being deposited into drop boxes during the more than month-long early voting and election day period.

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Georgia Public Broadcasting Received Chain of Custody Documents for 4,800 More Drop Box Absentee Ballots from Fulton County Than Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger

Georgia Public Broadcasting building

A comparison of chain of custody documents for absentee ballots deposited into drop boxes during the November 2020 election made available separately by Georgia Public Broadcasting News (GPB News) and the Georgia Secretary of State revealed that GPB News received documentation for 4,800 more drop box absentee ballots from Fulton County than Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

The number of absentee ballots documented in the chain of custody documents GPB News has versus those the Secretary of State has represents 6 percent of the total 79,460 Fulton County indicated were deposited into drop boxes during the November 2020 election.

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Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to be the Featured Speaker at Wilson County GOP Trump Day Dinner

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene will be the featured speaker of the Wilson County Republican Party Trump Day Dinner to be held Thursday, October 7 at the Farm Bureau Expo Center on East Baddour Parkway in Lebanon.

The provocative freshman and member of the House Freedom Caucus, Greene, serves Georgia’s 14th District in the U.S. House which sits to the northwest of Atlanta and just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee and includes the cities of Dalton and Rome.

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While DeKalb County Remains Silent, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Tells CNN the County’s Elections Director Leave of Absence Is Related to 2020 Election Job Performance

While DeKalb County officials have refused to indicate whether the extended leave of absence of Elections Director Erica Hamilton is job related, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said during a CNN interview that the leave was an outcome of an investigation related to the violation of absentee ballot chain of custody rules during the November 2020 election.

A joint statement issued by DeKalb Board of Registration and Elections Chair Dele Lowman Smith and Vice-Chair Nancy Jester announced that effective September 9, Erica Hamilton was on an extended leave of absence from her role as director of DeKalb County Registration and Elections. 

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