Tennessee Gets the Papers, Gets the Papers
Whoa.
You won’t believe these numbers. These are not Tennessee numbers. They are, instead, a testament to the long, hard-fought, three-year battle that Tennessee’s Gathering to Save Our Democracy spearheaded in the state for paper ballots.
And today they won.
Earlier this week, the state House voted 88-6 in favor of the Voter Confidence Act. This morning, it was unanimously approved in the Senate.
88-6.
Unanimously.
In Tennessee.
Thanks so much to all the Gathering folks who ushered this bill so diligently and carefully through the process. They made phone calls. They held conferences. They met with lawmakers. They made more phone calls and had more meetings. They organized screenings of Uncounted all over the state and gave copies to whomever they thought needed convincing. They were diligent, focused, and tireless and it can’t be overstated that if it wasn’t for the time they generously gave to the issue of election integrity, Tennessee would still be one of those states where our precious vote is still at risk.
Thanks also to Tennessee’s League of Women Voters, Democracy for Tennessee, and member organizations from Tennessee Alliance for Progress who got the word out when the word needed to get out.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, did we say thank you?
*Hat tip to ACK, for the Goodfellas reference.