As the country ramps up to begin early voting before the Nov. 5 election, the swill has already been stirring about election fraud, double voting, false representations, and stolen elections. These issues all come down to one question: Is my local official competent, trustworthy, and ethical enough to ensure a fair and accurate election? In Tennessee, the answer to that question over the last few elections has been a resounding ‘yes.’ On the state level, absentee ballots are watermarked to prevent counterfeiting, ballot harvesting and trafficking are prohibited, and drop boxes are not used.
When it comes to elections in Knoxville, Tenn., there is one constant that has stood under the watch of Chris Davis, Knox County Election Administrator: it is that all elections shall be run with integrity and to the letter of the law. From the day he started as the new director, Davis has been determined to educate the public and remove myths around voting and the process. His mission is to let the public know that they need to come out and vote, and when they do, his staff is prepared to make sure their vote is counted and is only counted once. He knows his team is ready because they have been well trained for months leading up to elections, not only in the process but managing concerns as well.
A phone call to the office of the election commission is promptly answered, and if the employee does not have the answer, they ask you to hold and get an employee to get the information needed. Davis is also available to answer the questions placed by the caller, even going as far as to call the state office if the question is not fully answered to the caller’s satisfaction. In the field, those employees who will be running the polling sites are a diverse group of citizens—well trained, polite, helpful, and determined, along with their leader, to follow the law and ensure there is nothing negative that can be said about Knox County elections.
Robert Watson, machine tech, has been working to set up all the early voting sites. He mentioned the multiple training sessions that the team in Knoxville has had and said everything is secure, and people have nothing to fear about the sanctity of their vote. He encourages everyone to come out to vote.
Longtime commission worker Tobertha Jackson has served the Knoxville community during election seasons since 2011 and said, “The election commission always strives to ensure diversity in the workplace, and by balancing workers from both parties. I have worked there since 2011 in various capacities. I strongly urge everyone to go and vote; your voice is only as powerful as your vote.”
