By Candice Ludlow
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-922153.mp3
Memphis, TN – A Tennessee state representative asked the state's election office to step in and oversee the next election in Shelby County. Candice Ludlow reports.
"Many people in the community are really, really upset and concerned about all of the discrepancies that were ascertained at that particular election, so there's a general lack of confidence that we see spreading through the community," State Representative Joe Towns Jr. said. He's referring to the August 5th election in Shelby County. He represents Memphians from Whitehaven to Hickory Hill.
"People are concerned that their votes are not being counted, and people are concerned that they weren't given the opportunity to vote. In other words, disenfranchised. As a result of that, you know we have another election coming in November, so what we're looking for is to encourage or insist that the state send in a bipartisan commission to oversee this November election," Towns said.
On election day, voters were turned away from the polls after they were told that they had already voted, but they had not. The Shelby County Election Commission quickly identified the problem on August 5th as a data entry error. The May Early Voter list was uploaded into the Electronic Poll Books instead of the August Early voter list.
Ten losing candidates have also filed suit asking the court to oversee the election after their investigation revealed many election irregularities. The Secretary of State's investigation is ongoing. And Congressman Steve Cohen is still awaiting a response from the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to conduct a federal inquiry.