MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Shelby County Election Commission completed final inspections of its voting machines on Thursday, October 8, and the equipment is ready for early voting, Administrator of Elections Linda Phillips said, according to Action News 5.
Early voting for the November 3 state and federal general election opens Wednesday, October 14 and runs through Thursday, October 29 at 26 sites. The county will deploy 1,100 ballot marking machines countywide for Election Day, Phillips said, per Action News 5.
Phillips' message was less about the machines than about what is on them. "I strongly recommend that everyone go to shelbyvote.com and look at the ballot," she said, per Action News 5. "There are three constitutional amendments that are long, and you should know what they say before you get to the machine." She added that Memphis voters will also see three city charter referendum questions and should review those as well. Polling locations will stock materials so voters can read the amendments on site, Phillips said.
The three statewide amendments, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State, deal with bail, a prohibition on the state taxing property, and the rights of crime victims. The Secretary of State posts summaries of each amendment online.
The guidance is practical: a voter who first encounters six ballot questions inside the booth slows the line for everyone behind them, and a voter who skips them leaves six decisions to everyone else.
The October 8 public inspection covered the machines used for early voting. A public inspection of the Election Day machines is scheduled for October 21 at the O.C. Pleasant, Jr. Election Operations Center, 980 Nixon Drive, and the commission's next regular meeting is Monday, October 26 at the same location, the final regular session before Election Day, according to the Election Commission's calendar.
Why It Matters for Memphis
Every Shelby County voter faces a governor's race, a U.S. Senate seat, and a congressional seat on this ballot, and Memphis voters additionally decide three changes to their own city charter. Machine readiness and ballot familiarity are the two variables the county and the voter respectively control; this week settled the first for early voting and started the clock on the second, with early voting five days away as of Friday, October 9.
The Oversight Question
The commission says the machines are ready. The receipts are the first week's provisional-ballot counts, wait times, and any reported configuration errors, all of them public records this newsroom will be checking against the October 8 all-clear.
Your city. Your money. Your receipts.
