Election Laws

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included a claim about the bill's effectiveness depending on approval by both chambers and the governor, which is not specified in the official source material. This information was removed as it is speculative at this stage of the bill's process.

Making Election Records Public

This bill requires county election commissions to make certain election records available for public inspection after an election and sets rules for handling these documents.

What This Bill Does

• Requires each county election commission to provide electronic copies of election records within 15 days after the election, with a fee limit of $50.
• Allows public access to images of voted ballots or cast vote records starting one day after final certification of an election is completed, if such images are maintained by the county.
• Makes original voted ballots available for inspection 61 days after the election, but only after removing personal voter information from the ballots.
• Permits observers to watch ballot handling and scanning processes without touching physical ballots.

Who It Names or Affects

• County election commissions
• Voters who request public access to election records

Terms To Know

Election Records

Documents related to an election, such as voted ballots and cast vote records.

Final Certification of Election

The official confirmation that all votes have been counted and the results are final.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify what happens if a county does not maintain images of voted ballots.
• Does not provide details on how fees for electronic copies will be managed or collected.

Official Summary Text

Present law generally requires the six-month preservation of all paper ballots after an election.
During the period in which they are preserved, the packages of ballots
must
be kept securely locked and may be opened and examined only on court order or under
procedures for a contested election of governor
.

This bill requires
each election commission to
do all of the following:



No
later than the 15
th
day after election day,
m
ake election records available

in an electronic format for a fee of no more than $50.



Beginning the first day after the date the final certification of an election is completed, make available for public inspection election records that are (i) images of voted ballots, if a county maintains images of voted ballots; or (ii) cast vote records.



Beginning on the 61
st
day after an election
,
make available for public inspection records that are original voted ballots.
However, t
he coordinator of elections must adopt procedures to ensure the redaction of any personally identifiable information of the voter contained on a ballot before marking the voted ballot available for public inspection.

This bill authorizes a person making a request pursuant to this bill to observe the scanning and related ballot-handling process, but
such
person
is not authorized
to touch or handle a physical ballot.

Current Bill Text

<BillNo> <Sponsor>

SENATE BILL 567
By Pody

SB0567
001926
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2,
relative to inspection of election documents.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-8-108, is amended by adding the
following new subsections:
(c) Each county election commission shall make election records available not
later than the fifteenth day after election day in an electronic format for a fee of no more
than fifty dollars ($50.00).
(d) Beginning on the first day after the date the final certification of an election is
completed, each county election commission shall make available for public inspection
election records that are:
(1) Images of voted ballots, if a county maintains images of voted ballots;
or
(2) Cast vote records.
(e) Beginning on the sixty-first day after an election, each county election
commission shall make available for public inspection records that are original voted
ballots. The coordinator of elections shall adopt procedures to ensure the redaction of
any personally identifiable information of the voter contained on a ballot before marking
the voted ballot available for public inspection.
(f) A person making a request pursuant to subsections (c)-(e) may observe the
scanning and related handling process, but shall not touch or handle a physical ballot.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.