MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It’s safe to say that the Shelby County Election Commission has not always enjoyed a great reputation with local voters. There have been plenty of election night glitches over the years. And the way the commission purges its registration rolls has resulted in harsh criticism. It has also been sued a time or two. And now the commission is facing another controversy over the purchase of new voting machines.
The process has been mired in delays, the county’s own bureaucracy – and technical problems during recent online meetings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the biggest problem is the aura of secrecy around the selection of a new voting machine vendor. Election commission lawyers and other county officials insist that proposals from vendors must remain secret until one of them is selected – and county mayor Lee Harris signs a letter of intent.
The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, known as TCOG, says that violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the state’s open meetings and open records law. Full disclosure here, I sit on the TCOG board, and I strongly believe the public has a right to know who’s bidding to provide voting machines and what the costs are.
The election commission has taken enough criticism – much of it justified. But the group now has some new members. And the last thing it needs is to be seen as operating in secrecy. And that’s my point of view.