The Senate State and Local Government Committee will take up SB 927 on Tuesday, April 13 at 10:30 am and the House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee will take up HB 937 on Wednesday, April 14. Last updated April 12, 2021. For the current status of this legislation, click here.
Ensuring that there is an auditable paper trail of votes when Tennesseans go to the ballot box is crucial to the safe and secure operation of elections in our state.
However, Tennessee is one of only 14 states that do not require a paper trail of votes. As a result, 68 of 95 Tennessee counties use an electronic voting system that doesn’t create a paper trail, which is not only the least secure method of collecting votes, but which can also lead to accessibility issues for older voters or voters who have disabilities.
SB 927/HB 937 would require that counties who are buying, upgrading, or replacing voting systems to ensure that the system produces a “voter-verified paper audit trail” or VVPAT, which simply means that when someone votes, there is a paper record of their ballot that they can verify at the polling place.
TAKE ACTION: Please call members of the Senate State and Local Government Committee and the House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee and ask them to ensure that all Tennessee counties offer a secure, auditable paper trail of votes.
Sample Phone Script:
Hello, my name is ________________. I am calling urge you to support election security in Tennessee and vote yes on SB 927/HB 937.
Ensuring that there is an auditable paper trail of votes when Tennesseans go to the ballot box is crucial to the safe and secure operation of elections in our state. All voters in our state deserve to cast their ballots with the knowledge that their vote is being counted securely and correctly, and that our local, state, federal elections can be verified.
Please vote yes on SB 927/HB 937.
Senate State and Local Government Committee:
| Sen. Todd Gardenhire | 615-741-6682 | sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov |
| Sen. Sara Kyle | 615-741-4167 | sen.sara.kyle@capitol.tn.gov |
| Sen. Richard Briggs | 615-741-1766 | sen.richard.briggs@capitol.tn.gov |
| Sen. Ken Yager | 615-741-1449 | sen.ken.yager@capitol.tn.gov |
| Sen. Jeff Yarbro | 615-741-3291 | sen.jeff.yarbro@capitol.tn.gov |
| Sen. Bill Powers | 615-741-2374 | bill.powers@capitol.tn.gov |
| Sen. Page Walley | 615-741-2368 | sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov |
| Sen. Ed Jackson | 615-741-1810 | sen.ed.jackson@capitol.tn.gov |
| Sen. Brian Kelsey | 615-741-3036 | sen.brian.kelsey@capitol.tn.gov |
House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee:
| Rep. John Crawford | 615-741-7623 | rep.john.crawford@capitol.tn.gov |
| Rep. John Holsclaw Jr. | 615-741-7450 | rep.john.holsclaw@capitol.tn.gov |
| Rep. Harold Love Jr. | 615-741-3831 | rep.harold.love@capitol.tn.gov |
| Rep. Eddie Mannis | 615-741-2287 | rep.eddie.mannis@capitol.tn.gov |
| Rep. Tim Rudd | 615-741-2804 | rep.tim.rudd@capitol.tn.gov |
| Rep. Johnny Shaw | 615-741-4538 | rep.johnny.shaw@capitol.tn.gov |
| Rep. Ryan Williams | 615-741-1875 | rep.ryan.williams@capitol.tn.gov |
| Rep. Dave Wright | 615-741-6879 | rep.dave.wright@capitol.tn.gov |
