MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County-area constituents have raised alarms to representatives on issues at the ballot box.
Tennessee State Representatives G.A. Hardaway (D-Memphis), Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis) and Shelby County Election Commissioner Venecia Kimbrow held a press conference Thursday, Oct. 17, to say that they have heard from constituents that errors are occurring when they try to cast their votes.
Parkinson said he received several calls from area voters, who said they would select a candidate, but their vote would list for another candidate.
Kimbrow said that the boxes voters are going to are new machines, and there are some learning curves with them, but she did not think there was anything nefarious occurring.
She said she does not believe the machines are the problem, saying they have been tried and personally tested. The situation, she claimed, possibly stems from user error.
The issue comes down to how people are entering their votes. In some cases, people are using their finger when they should be using a stylus, or vice versa.
Kimbrow said that the calibration of the machines can cause the names to switch because of hand placements on the machine, but voters are able to request a stylus.
"The styluses should've been out and present," Kimbrow said. "In some instances, they were provided timely or quickly."
Parkinson said he agreed that the styluses should be suggested to voters when they come in.
Kimbrow said a rapid notice was sent to precinct supervisors, and she expects the issue to be resolved immediately.
Kimbrow said out of the 10 or 12 precincts she has heard complaints from, there has not been a plethora of issues. Instead, it is seemingly one machine at the various precincts.
"If it is found that a machine is repeatedly giving an error, that machine will be pulled and replaced," Kimbrow said.
She wants people to remain vigilant and make sure the machines are recording everything properly before they cast their ballot.
“What I’ll tell constituents is if you're told that something we purchased is not available at a polling site, you do not leave that polling site; you do not abandon your right to vote,” she said. “You stand there, you ask for a supervisor; the supervisor should then be able to resolve that issue.”
Hardaway said he was disappointed that the election administrator, Linda Phillips, was not more in front of the issue, saying he planned to called Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett.
"Don't leave until you have cast your vote," Hardaway said. "If you run into problems, call your state representative. If they can't straighten out the machine, your option is to cast a paper ballot."
Parkinson added that people calling in have only been Democrats whose votes switched to Republican, but he is assuming Republicans are having the same problems.
He said the reason why they are only hearing about Democratic constituents is because Republican constituents don't always reach out to them.