Here’s what to know for Tuesday’s election
Here is what you need to know for in-person or absentee voting Tuesday, from how to do some election homework to what to expect at the polls or the drop-off for your absentee ballot.
Bill Dries
Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
There are 3663 articles by Bill Dries :
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November 2020
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Elections -
Elections Democrats seek court order to access names of absentee voters
The lawsuit filed Sunday seeks an expedited court hearing and injunction so U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Marquita Bradshaw’s campaign can contact voters ahead of Election Day and urge them to submit their absentee ballots.
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Podcast
ElectionsShelby County early and absentee voters mostly women, Memphians, over 50
A new voting app breaks down who the early voters were. The broader turnout numbers show more than half of the county’s registered voters have already cast their ballots.
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October 2020
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Video
Behind The HeadlinesBehind the Headlines: Lakeland, Millington school superintendents weigh pandemic impact on students
On “Behind The Headlines,” the leaders of the two suburban school systems also agreed with the recommendation of Gov. Bill Lee not to use the results of state achievement tests this year to evaluate teachers and students. Nevertheless, they are watching to gauge the impact of the pandemic on learning and the lives of students.
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Elections On to Election Day: A quick guide to the Nov. 3 ballot
Here’s a quick guide to the competitive races on the ballot and what is at stake in other races that aren’t as competitive.
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Public Safety U.S. Marshal offers rewards in unsolved killings of eight children
The U.S. Marshal’s Service is offering $50,000 in rewards for information in the cases of eight children who have been slain this year in Memphis.
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Elections Early voting ends with questions, big numbers, deep differences
Thursday is the last day of early voting in advance of the Nov. 3 election. The large turnout of early voters and those voting absentee so far leaves Election Day turnout as a bit of a surprise. And last-minute appeals to Republican and Democratic partisans is proving that political divisions over the past four years are likely to remain once the votes are counted.
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Elections Bartlett Post Office to accept absentee mail-in ballots
The U.S. Postal Service box in Bartlett will accept mail-in absentee ballots on election day up to 3 p.m. with a guarantee they will be in election commission hands by the time the polls close at 7 p.m. — the deadline to vote absentee.
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Public Safety Memphis sets up focus groups to ‘reimagine policing’
The “reimagine policing” group is to make recommendations by the start of the new year.
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Elections Shelby election officials get new ballot scanners for absentee vote count
It’s the second consecutive election the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office has come up with federal funding to buy the updated scanners for Shelby County.
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Elections Presidential campaigns have distinctly Memphis flavor
Tennessee may not be a battleground state in the presidential general election, but the absence of the Trump or Biden national campaigns in Memphis leaves a race for president on uniquely local terms.
Related story: A local history of tumult and change at the polls
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Education County budget season blueprint gets closer look
Budget committee chairman Edmund Ford Jr. amended his resolution to stick with the county’s policy of keeping its financial reserves at 20% of general fund revenues. He has suggested a 15% to 20% guideline.
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Elections More than 28,000 request absentee ballots as of a day before deadline
Applications can be made online and are due by the end of the business day at the election commission. Completed absentee ballots are due at the election commission by the time the Election Day polls close at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 and cannot be hand-delivered.
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Elections A local history of tumult and change at the polls
Here are a few changes in how elections are conducted in Memphis, close elections and even a belated admission that a pivotal mayor’s race was rigged.
Related story: Presidential campaigns have distinctly Memphis flavor
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Shelby County Reducing county reserve fund has risks, commission is warned
The commission will vote Oct. 26 on setting new parameters for the spring budget season. And the county’s CFO says it could be dangerous to lower the percentage of reserves on hand.
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Podcast
On the RecordGrowth in voters and voter turnout comes with questions
The founder of one of the get out the vote groups working locally says on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast that higher turnout is part of a national trend. But detailed numbers also show ongoing problems in access to the vote.
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City of Memphis Strickland trying to get process back on track for possible MLGW exit from TVA
The mayor says taking bids from possible rivals to TVA should include transmission costs to get the cost estimates needed to make a decision about MLGW leaving the federal agency.
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VIDEO
City of MemphisStrickland says rebuilding MPD will cost more money
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland also said on the WKNO program “Behind The Headlines” that police reform still means hiring more officers.
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City of Memphis Elvis Presley Enterprises’ lawsuit against city of Memphis dismissed
The federal lawsuit claimed the city interfered with Graceland’s plans for a Whitehaven arena.
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Elections Early voting near 200,000 mark with one week in pre-election day period
Thursday marks one week to the end of early voting in the presidential general election. While turnout has slipped a bit after the weekend, it is still ahead of the early voting count at this point for the three previous elections in the cycle.
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City of Memphis New try at larger MPD is among task force goals
The violent crime task force is forming as Police Director Michael Rallings told City Council members Tuesday that more officers means less crime. The city has already this year set a record for the number of annual homicides.
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City of Memphis Council considers broadening COVID business grants
The Memphis City Council is considering dropping the city residency requirement for business owners seeking COVID-related grants who live outside Memphis but have businesses inside the city.
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City of Memphis Pinch District tower developers meet council skepticism
Developers of a $180 million commercial mixed-use tower of hotel rooms and condos on the western edge of the Pinch District encountered some skepticism as they pitched the project to the Memphis City Council.
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Elections Local leaders plan for election surprises beyond ‘incivility’
For two weeks, the state’s Emergency Management agency has been walking local leaders, including law enforcement, through such election surprises as voter intimidation, disruptions and even civil disorder in the event no one concedes in the contentious presidential race atop the ballot.
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City of Memphis City Council talks riverfront tower project and record homicide count
The Tuesday city council session will also include a call for more information about the percentage of city contracts that minority-owned businesses get.
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