MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Many have been wanting change in the Shelby County Clerk’s Office for a while now and a new bill that is making its way through the Tennesee Legislature might do just that.
Holding elected officials accountable isn’t always easy when it’s not an election year.
House Bill 434 sponsored by Republican state Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) might change that.
The bill reduces the number of signatures needed to hold a recall election for elected county officials from 15% of registered county voters to 1%.
It’s a move White said he’s made because of the continued backlog of car titles and other items in embattled Wanda Halbert’s Clerk’s office.
“When you have people in our community who are standing in line, three, four, five hours and it doesn’t improve month after month after month," White said during the committee meeting Wednesday.
That long wait happens far too often and is far too familiar for many in Memphis.
“I just don't think it should be that hard to pay your taxes, get your tags and move on with your life," Katelin Walker a Shelby County driver said.
Twice in one month last year, Halbert closed offices for a week and at the time Halbert said it was to catch up on the backlog. But during those shutdowns, Halbert admitted to going on vacation to Jamaica
"[We] really have a breakdown in service in Shelby County in our department, our clerk’s office that issues license plates and that affects people, White said. "Are standing in line three and six hours and then are told you need to go home and bring some other document back."
Lowering the recall threshold has gained criticism from some with detractors saying the number of signatures to recall a county official will be too low...
White disagrees. He says it has one key safeguard from abuse.
“And since you do have to have a county resolution stating that we have lost confidence, and this is the dually elected 13 members of our Shelby County Commission," White said. "To say that we do not have confidence in this particular elected office.”
After the Shelby County Commission passes the resolution of no confidence then the question goes on the ballot.
With nearly 589,872 registered voters in the county a recall petition, as required by this new bill, would only need about 6 thousand signatures to succeed.