Members of the Carter County Election Commission certified the election results from March 1 on Monday and also heard a report on two complaints from voters.
A total of 11,315 residents cast their ballots in Carter County for the March 1 election.
“We had five provisional ballots, two of which counted as good,” Administrator of Elections Tracy Harris told the Election Commission.
Provisional ballots are provided to voters who state they have previously attempted to register to vote but no record of their registration exists. The provisional ballots are provided on paper for the voter to fill out and are then placed in a locked box until the polls close on Election Day. After the polls close, the election officials verify the voter’s claim of registration and also verify that he or she did not vote in person at any other polling location. If evidence shows the person attempted to register and did not vote, the provisional ballot is then counted as good and added to the total number of votes.
The March 1 election marked the first for the Election Commission since moving to their new location at 116 Holston Avenue.
“I know things can always go smoother, but I think the election went very well,” Election Commission Chairman Doug Buckles said.
Harris said she had received quite a bit of positive feedback from voters, especially among elderly and disabled residents, regarding the ease of early voting at the new office.
“I think it went very well in this building,” Harris said. “We had a lot of compliments.”
While the majority of feedback was positive, Harris informed the Election Commission members the office received two complaints from voters which had also been sent to the state election commission.
One complaint was in reference to a voter being moved from one district to another despite the fact that he had not moved away from his residence.
Roan Mountain resident Scott VanDam sent an e-mail to the Division of Elections under the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office.
“i am a registered democratic voter in carter county. i have always voted until Mar 1 at the local school in roan mountain,” VanDam said in his e-mail. “i received an updated voter reg card in the mail requiring me to now vote at a school farther away in hampton tenn. Is this a deliberate attempt to discourage me as a democratic voter?”
Cara Harr, an attorney with the Division of Elections, forwarded VanDam’s e-mail to Harris and asked her to provide more information on the incident.
On Monday, Harris told the Election Commission that the state is currently doing GIS mapping of the various districts and precincts across the state and it was discovered that VanDam had been assigned to the wrong county district based on his address. Harris said she had received a list of voters assigned to the wrong precincts and districts from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office and she and her office staff began making the necessary corrections to voter registrations.
VanDam lives on Phil Arnett Lane in Roan Mountain and while his home is closer to the precinct location in Roan Mountain in the county’s 2nd District, his address places him just across the line in the county’s 8th District, which votes at Hampton.
“We did have him in the wrong district,” Harris said, adding when the issue was discovered VanDam’s registration was transferred to the correct district and he was sent a letter informing him of the change.
“I didn’t want to move anyone of course, but I also must follow the rules and (state law) regarding the precincts and districts ratio according to the 2010 Census blocks,” Harris said.
The second complaint came from a man who claims the staff at the Election Commission office prevented him from being able to vote in the March 1 election.
County resident Joe Crabtree sent an e-mail to Harris and then sent one to the Division of Elections regarding his complaint.
Crabtree said he went to the Election Commission office on Election Day March 1 due to the fact he was not sure at which precinct he should vote.
“I moved to Carter County in August 2014. I went online to make a change of address for my driver’s license and voter registration. Both were done at the same time,” Crabtree said in the e-mail. “I received my driver’s license in a short amount of time. I assumed that my change of address with the election commission had changed as well.”
However, Crabtree said when he went to the Election Commission office he was told that no change of address had been filed and he would not be allowed to vote in Carter County for the election. He said an employee in the office told him he could go to his old precinct in Washington County to vote if he had moved within the last 90 days. Crabtree went on to say the employee then “put her clipboard over her eyes and said ‘don’t tell me yes or no.’”
Crabtree said he felt that the employee was telling him to perjure himself by going to Washington County to vote.
“I am appalled and furious that I was unable to vote in this primary election despite the fact that I have been a registered voter since my 18th birthday,” Crabtree said in the e-mail. “Surely there is some way one election commission can communicate with the state to verify the voter registration of someone who moved into their district that could then allow them to vote.”
“I feel that the actions of today are hindering my voice from being heard,” Crabtree said. “I am especially disgusted that it was suggested that I perjure myself to another poll worker in another precinct.”
Harris told the Election Commission that no employee had told or indicated to Crabtree that he should perjure himself, and said another employee was present in the office when Crabtree was speaking with the employee in question.
Additionally, Harris said, employees did not hinder Crabtree from voting but instead offered to help him.
“He was offered a provisional ballot,” Harris said, adding Crabtree refused the use of a provisional ballot.