Sen. Mark Norris (R-Oz)
Do you know where your birth certificate is? If not and you’re planning on moving to another Tennessee county or registering as a new voter anytime soon, you better work on getting that replacement copy.
Under a new bill introduced by Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville), SB1999, Tennessee will require citizenship status to be proven with any new voter registration – that includes any existing registered voter moving to another county within Tennessee since we treat those address changes as new registrations.
Smart bill, right? Because the only reason Senator Norris would introduce this type of legislation is to combat all the documented incidences of undocumented workers trying to vote in U.S. elections, right? Problem is, there aren’t any documented and/or prosecuted cases of this kind. In fact, you are more likely to get hit by lightening than commit voter fraud – citizen or not. And rather than focus on the real issues facing Tennesseans – high unemployment, a sub-standard public education system, the lack of affordable health care – Senator Norris would rather offer solutions to non-existent problems.
So if the good Senator from Collierville doesn’t have any legitimate reason for introducing this type of legislation which is shown to add unnecessary barriers to the polling place , then why would he? As Senator Thelma Harper (D-Nashville) insisted in the spirited exchange she had with Senator Norris yesterday, “You will accomplish your goal of slowing down registrations.”
Tennessee Senate and House Republicans are working a full court press against free and fair elections in Tennessee by introducing legislation that disenfranchises voters from start to finish – mandatory photo IDs, proof of citizenship for registration, and gutting the paper ballot bill that requires audits and a paper trail to ensure accurate recounts. Why?
[...] Act (Paper Ballot Bill) 2) An attempt to require proof of citizenship to register to vote, a well-worn voter suppression tactic. 3) An attempt to require picture IDs to vote, another well-worn voter suppression tactic. 4) [...]