As advocates push nationally for states to increase voting security, Tennessee election officials who are trying to win approval for voting machines that produce a paper record have hit a roadblock.
A proposal by the state Election Commission for all future voting machines to be capable of producing some sort of paper trail was halted when a surprise legal opinion emerged from the GOP-controlled Legislature’s legal team. The opinion contests the commission’s process on how it certifies voting machines.
Fallout from the opinion has once again tempered attempts to make sweeping changes to Tennessee’s voting systems.
Currently, Tennessee doesn’t specify what kind of voting equipment local governments must use, resulting in just a handful of counties that give voters a paper printout of their ballot.
