The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) recognized the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Division of Elections as a recipient of the National Clearing House Awards for the division’s American Sign Language video project.
The EAC awarded the state in the category “Improving Accessibility for Voters with Disabilities.”
“Tennessee continued to lead the nation through innovation and by increasing opportunities for all registered voters in our state to successfully cast a ballot,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said in a Wednesday release. “Congratulations to our staff within the Elections Division for earning this national honor.”
The Elections Division’s American Sign Language Video Project consisted of a series of videos that provided accessible information about proposed amendments to the Tennessee Constitution in 2022. In 2022, registered Tennessee voters voted to make Tennessee a “right to work” state, to eliminate an unenforced section barring clergy from serving in the Tennessee State Legislature, and to eliminate language that allowed slavery as a punishment for criminals.
The video series was viewed more than 24,400 times, according to the release.
“Tennessee’s American Sign Language Video Project established a national model for all other states to follow, and it enabled us to relay trusted information to Tennesseans who have hearing impairments,” Elections Coordinator Mark Goins said in the release. “We appreciate the EAC for this national award, and we are grateful to committed partners like Disability Rights of Tennessee and Bridges for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for working with us on an innovative solution that assisted more registered voters in our state to participate in the electoral process.”
The Clearing House Awards, also known as the “Clearies,” are presented annually across the country by the EAC to recognize election excellence. The EAC launched the awards in 2016 to promote best practices and celebrate accomplishments.
Thirty-two other election programs received Clearinghouse Awards this year.
The EAC, a bipartisan federal agency, was created by the 2002 Help America Vote Act. Former President George W. Bush signed this bill into law.
The Heritage Foundation has consistently ranked Tennessee as the best in election integrity. Tennessee has the highest score of all 50 states, with an overall 90 out of 100.
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Matthew Giffin is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Matthew on X/Twitter.
Photo “People Voting” by Phil Roeder. CC BY-SA 2.0.
