One member of the Tennessee General Assembly has been fighting for election integrity during the current legislative session, passing six bills that have either been signed into law or are ready for Gov. Bill Lee (R) ‘s signature.
State Representative Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro) has passed half a dozen laws to secure Tennessee’s election process.
HB 2294, for example, requires Tennesseans who want to vote as absentees to request an absentee ballot 10 days before an election instead of seven and requires a voter seeking to be placed on the permanent absentee voting register to file a physician’s statement to do so.
That law will take effect on November 6.
One bill tackles the issue of third-party voter registration groups.
HB 1955 “requires a third-party voter registration organization to register and provide certain information to the coordinator of elections before engaging in a voter registration event or program” and prohibits people and organizations from pre-filling voter registration applications.
That bill is awaiting Lee’s signature.
HB 1897 disqualifies people from serving as election administrators if they are also qualified as candidates for office. Also, it requires an administrator to recuse themselves 30 days before an election if an immediate family member is on the ballot in the same county.
That law took effect on March 15.
“One of the most important aspects of our form of government is fairness and security in elections,” Rudd (pictured above) said. “All eligible Tennesseans have a right for their voices to be heard at the ballot box. I’m committed to keeping our elections the most secure in the nation and ensuring it’s easy to vote but hard to cheat.”
Other bills passed by Rudd include HB 2121, related to executive committees of state political parties meeting on certain dates throughout the year, HB 1794, known as the Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act, which “requires each elector or alternate to vote for the candidate for which they were elected or appointed to represent,” and HB 1799 which relates to disclosure requirements for Tennessee elections officials who attend election training courses or seminars out of state.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter/X.
