There are 248 article(s) tagged Shelby County Election Commission:

• January 2022

  • Field of contenders grows for May county primaries

    So far, 43 contenders have pulled qualifying petitions to get on the May 3 county primary ballot. Three have also filed their petitions with the Shelby County Election Commission.

    By Bill Dries January 01, 2022

• December 2021

  • Opening day to get on May primary ballot draws 28 potential candidates

    Those pulling petitions have until noon Feb. 17 to file their petitions with the Shelby County Election Commission and if certified go on the May 3, 2022, county primary ballot.

    By Bill Dries December 27, 2021

• August 2021

  • Local redistricting numbers taking shape

    U.S. Census figures show some County Commission districts have grown in population while others have lost population since a decade ago. 

    By Bill Dries August 20, 2021

  • Both parties like ‘low-tech’ voting, former commissioner says

    One of the county’s most vocal advocates for a new voting system with hand-marked paper ballots says the push for such a system isn’t part of the national political movement that contends Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election.

    By Bill Dries August 15, 2021

  • Election commission chief says Democrats want ‘cloudy elections’

    Shelby County Election Commission Chairman Brent Taylor said on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, that local Democrats want disputed election results, referring to the push for paper ballots, which he believes will lead to chaos.

    By Bill Dries August 01, 2021

• July 2021

  • Election Commission chairman says County Commission not cooperating on voting machines

    Brent Taylor says the County Commission decision to take its own bids on a new voting system “effectively bypasses” the Election Commission and “doesn’t indicate a willingness to work cooperatively.”

    By Bill Dries July 27, 2021

  • New voting machines rejected as County Commission moves to rebid

    Shelby County commissioners Monday voted down a new touch-screen voting system that includes a paper trail and moved to cut the Election Commission out of the process by taking new bids on a system that primarily uses hand-marked paper ballots.

    By Bill Dries July 26, 2021

  • New voting machine issue is moving again in County Commission

    A vote Monday by the Shelby County Commission on a new voting system could mean new voting machines by the May county primary elections. 

    By Bill Dries July 21, 2021

  • Opinion: New voting system ensures local elections’ integrity

    ‘One of the greatest assets of ballot-marking devices is that ambiguous or indeterminate marks frequently made by voters when marking ballots by hand are completely eliminated,’ says Brent Taylor.

    By Brent Taylor July 20, 2021

• April 2021

  • Talks start over new voting system compromise

    On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, Election Commission Chairman Brent Taylor talks about new discussions with county commissioners two months after the Election Commission voted to go to court in the simmering dispute.

    By Bill Dries April 24, 2021

  • Taylor is new chairman of changing Election Commission

    Shelby County election commissioners chose Brent Taylor Tuesday, April 13, as the new chairman of the five-member body. 

    By Bill Dries April 13, 2021

• February 2021

  • Election Commission to take County Commission to court over new voting machines

    On a party-line vote Tuesday, Feb. 16, the Shelby County Election Commission voted 3-2 to take the County Commission to court in the ongoing standoff over a new voting system for the 2022 elections. 

    By Bill Dries February 17, 2021

• November 2020

  • Certified vote count changes no outcomes, reflects 65% Shelby County turnout

    The two closest races on the Nov. 3 ballot got a bit closer but with nearly 80% of the votes cast during early voting, Election Day was a mere 14% of the countywide turnout. 

    By Bill Dries November 24, 2020

  • Collierville runoff early voters get first use of new voting system starting Wednesday

    The Shelby County Election Commission says its hand was forced by having to keep voting machines used in the November elections sealed until all results from that election are certified next week. Early voting in the two Collierville runoff elections starts Wednesday.

    By Bill Dries November 17, 2020

  • Germantown approves statewide masking resolution, 90 homes

    The Germantown Board of Mayor and Alderman approved a resolution urging Gov. Bill Lee to implement a statewide mask mandate. It also approved outline plans for two subdivisions that total 90 homes. 

    By Abigail Warren November 10, 2020

  • Vote count continues in Shelby County without fanfare

    While presidential battleground states continue to count votes, the count in Shelby County is quietly moving toward completion with a large number of provisional ballots.

    By Bill Dries November 07, 2020

  • Election Day comes with lots of votes already cast

    With a majority of the county’s voters casting ballots during early voting, the 2020 presidential general Election Day is unique. And it’s being defined by politicos on both sides as the “last day to vote.”

    Related Story: Here’s what you need to know for Election Day

    By Bill Dries November 02, 2020

• October 2020

  • 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.

    By Bill Dries October 28, 2020

  • 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. 

    By Bill Dries October 27, 2020

  • More than 111,000 cast ballots in first 4 days of early voting

    The total is inexact but ahead of the pace for early voting in the last three presidential elections in Shelby County. Data includes details of who the early voters and absentee voters are and a batch of new voters registered in recent months. 

    By Bill Dries October 19, 2020

  • North Memphis poll worker fired for turning away voters

    The firing was confirmed by an election commission spokesperson after state Rep. Antonio Parkinson posted about the change in personnel Sunday on social media.

    By Bill Dries October 19, 2020

  • Absentee votes will complicate election night returns

    Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips, on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, says the unofficial vote count may be tallied by midnight Nov. 3. But counting absentee ballots is a complex process.

    By Bill Dries October 17, 2020

  • Election Commission clears backlog of absentee ballot requests

    The commission is now processing absentee applications as they come in. The deadline to request the mail-in ballots is Oct. 27.

    By Bill Dries October 13, 2020

  • County Commission rejects contract for voting system

    A $5.8 million contract for a new voting system in Shelby County failed Monday, Oct. 12, in a 6-5 vote by the Shelby County Commission.

    By Bill Dries October 13, 2020

  • First batch of absentee ballots in the mail

    The Election Commission is getting 500 requests a day for the mail-in ballots in Shelby County ahead of the Nov. 3 election day.

    By Bill Dries October 08, 2020