New legislation introduced Tuesday in Tennessee would require the Tennessee Coordinator of Elections, Tennessee Department of Safety (TDOS), and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to create new portals that will allow election officials to determine if voter applicants are U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote.
House Bill 69 by Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) requires the Coordinator of Elections and TDOS to “create a secure, electronic portal through which each county administrator of elections may access information to verify, prior to processing an applicant’s application to register to vote, whether the applicant is a non-United States citizen based on records on file.”
The state agencies will be tasked with ensuring the information is accurate, sufficiently reports citizenship status, and is capable of withstanding a high volume of use, but must also prepare procedures for periods when the system may be undergoing maintenance.
If an applicant’s voter registration is denied based on the information available on the portal, the legislation would allow a 10-day period to appeal the decision.
The second portal would require collaboration between the Coordinator of Elections and TBI to determine if those who have applied for the right to vote in Tennessee were previously convicted of a felony and, if so, whether their right to vote was restored due to expungement.
Those denied based on information within this portal would similarly be allowed to appeal the decision.
In addition to creating the portals, the legislation would require that driver’s licenses issued to non-citizens in Tennessee be considered temporary. Also, it would have them specifically designed to avoid confusing the temporary identification documents with forms of identification considered acceptable when voting in the Volunteer State.
Similarly, under the proposed legislation, those seeking to renew their driver’s license starting in 2026 must be able to provide their citizenship, or else “must be issued a temporary driver license, temporary permit, or temporary photo identification license,” as described in the bill.
Drivers in Tennessee must prove they are citizens to obtain a driver’s license or state identification, and last year, a Tennessee senate committee blocked legislation that would have created “driver privilege cards” for non-citizens.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) proposed legislation that would strip funding from states allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Where is the demand for REAL paper ballots?
It appears that Mr. Lamberth can actually do something more than just carry the governor’s water on unpopular legislation such as the now even more expensive school voucher sham.
EXCELLENT