Deja Vu: TN Uses Classic Intimidation Tactics To Scare Voters

Two Tennessee lawmakers are calling for an investigation after the state coordinator of elections sent out over 14,000 letters asking voters for proof of their citizenship before the upcoming election. This comes just weeks before early voting starts for the primaries. Via WKRN.com:

The letter was sent a select group of Tennesseans from the state coordinator of elections, Mark Goins. The letter reads that their voter information matches with an individual who may have not been a U.S. citizen at the time they got their driver license or ID card.

“On its face, this letter is voter intimidation,” State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) said. The letter then asks for the voter to send back proof of their citizenship, such as their birth certificate or U.S. passport. “It gives the impression—falsely—that there is another procedural step that they must jump through before they can vote in the upcoming elections,” Clemmons said.

Clemmons said a select group of voters both here in Nashville and across the state have received this letter. “One from whom we heard became a U.S. citizen in 2006, and they received this letter. They are pulling this information for somewhere,” Clemmons said. That is the representative’s biggest question, as he now calls on the Tennessee Attorney General to investigate why these voters were targeted.

read more