August 9, 2018

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL & FACSIMILE

Kerry B. Steelman
Administrator of Elections
Hamilton County Election Commission
Chattanooga, TN 37406
Email: Vote@HamiltonTN.gov
Facsimile: (423) 493-5101

Mark Goins
Coordinator of Elections
Tennessee Division of Elections
312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue
Snodgrass Tower, 7th Floor
Nashville, TN 37243
Email: tennessee.elections@tn.gov

Dear Mr. Steelman and Mr. Goins:

The Chattanooga Branch NAACP, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
(“Lawyers’ Committee”), and several of our community partners based in Nashville write to
express grave concerns regarding the more than 300 voters who were apparently placed within
the wrong voting districts as a result of the redrawing of Hamilton County’s district lines in
either 2013 or 2015.1 We are further alarmed that 43 of these impacted voters who cast early
ballots will not have those ballots counted and that the County Election Commissioners stated
that nothing could be done about the disenfranchisement of these voters.2

The Chattanooga Branch NAACP is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. Its mission is to

ensure the political, education, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to
eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. The Chattanooga Branch NAACP
encourages and facilitates nonpartisan voter registration drives to promote civic
participation, and further promotes and defends voting rights. As part of its core mission to

1 County Told on Eve of Election That Certain District Lines Were Wrong; 325 Voters Affected, THE CHATTANOOGAN,
Aug. 1, 2018, http://www.chattanoogan.com/2018/8/1/373736/County-Told-On-Eve-Of-Election-
That.aspx.
2 Hamilton County Voters Impacted by Boundary Discrepancy (3 WRCBTV television broadcast Aug. 1, 2018, 12:11

PM), http://www.wrcbtv.com/clip/14531094/hamilton-county-voters-impacted-by-boundary-discrepancy.

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defend voting rights, the Chattanooga Branch NAACP identified and drew attention to the
redistricting issue that disenfranchised a significant number of voters in Hamilton County
the day following Tennessee’s Primary Election. The Chattanooga Branch then involved the
Lawyers’ Committee in its efforts to seek more transparency from the Hamilton County and
Tennessee State Elections Commission regarding why the redistricting problem occurred
and how long it has continued to disenfranchise voters in the County.

The Lawyers’ Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the

request of President John F. Kennedy to enlist the private bar’s leadership and resources in
combatting racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity. The Lawyers’
Committee is committed to ensuring that all voters have an equal and fair opportunity to
participate in the political process. To that end, the Lawyers’ Committee leads the Election
Protection Coalition which offers a voter hotline (866-OUR-VOTE) providing Americans
from coast to coast with comprehensive voting information and a vehicle to report problems
that arise on or before Election Day.3

As we understand the facts, a 2013 or 2015 redistricting of Hamilton County shifted several
geographic district boundaries, and the fact some voters were placed into the wrong voting
districts was not uncovered until last week by the Tennessee State Election Commission. 4
According to news reports, two days before the primary election on July 31, the Tennessee
State Election Commission informed Hamilton County election officials that a “discrepancy
in lines was found when the state was doing some voter reports.” 5 In response, the County
election officials held an emergency meeting and approved ballot changes for the impacted
voters that were then sent to the State Commission for approval.6 According to news reports,
the County officials told the media that “three new precincts had to be formed with a handful
of voters in each.”7 County officials also identified 325 impacted voters – 43 of those voters
cast early ballots and the remaining 242 voters were issued special ballots at the polls. 8 The
County officials stated that the 43 early ballots would not count and there was nothing that
they could do about the disenfranchisement of these voters.9

The reports concerning boundary discrepancies and early ballots not counting are alarming.
Little information exists on how boundary discrepancies or the number of affected voters
were determined in the first place, why 43 early ballots were not counted and what steps were

3 On August 2, the Lawyers’ Committee operated a live hotline to help Tennessee voters encountering issues
on Primary Day.
4 Id.
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 Id.
8 Id.
9 Hamilton County Voters Impacted by Boundary Discrepancy, supra note 2.

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taken to inform these voters that their votes were not counted, and the extent of the State
Commission’s involvement in the County’s decision to create three new precincts and issue
special ballots. Moreover, little is known about the date that the redistricting occurred and
how long voters have been casting votes in the wrong district and for the wrong officials. The
fact that eligible voters’ ballots were potentially not counted for the past few years presents a
larger problem that requires further investigation.

The State and County’s response to this problem has been less than transparent. The County
has failed to provide any clarity regarding the full extent of the problem and on the
ameliorative actions, if any, that were taken. In fact, neither the State nor the County issued a
press release and news reports were scant. The Chattanooga Branch NAACP noted the lack
of media coverage on this issue and election officials rebuffed attempts by our members to
receive clarity on the full extent of events. Many questions remain unanswered and we ask that
your office provide additional information.

Based on the above, we have a number of concerns regarding the primary elections held on
August 2, not least of all is the lack of information provided by your office to the public
regarding the problem. In order to ensure that we are able to ascertain the full extent of the
problem so as to provide support for voters in of Hamilton County in the upcoming general
election, we request that your offices provide detailed answers to the following questions:

1. How did your office accurately determine that only 325 voters were
impacted by the redistricting? Is there a possibility that additional voters
could have been impacted? What steps have you or your office taken to
investigate this issue?
2. How did your office catch that district boundaries were shifted?
3. Can you provide the number of impacted voters broken down by the
district in which they reside?
4. Can you provide a count of the impacted voters and a breakdown of those
votes by those who voted early, absentee, by mail, and in person?
5. Can you provide numbers for total ballots that were counted? How many
of each ballot type was not counted?
6. Based on the information in news reports, of the 43 early ballots that were
not counted, were any of these voters informed that their vote was not
going to count before voting was closed, and, if so, how? Were any of
these voters informed that their ballots were not counted after voting was
closed, and, if so, how?
7. What kind of special ballot was issued to the impacted voters? How many
of the special ballots were counted?

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 8. What process did your office use to ensure that every eligible impacted
individual’s ballot was counted?
9. What affirmative steps are your office taking to reduce the burdens on
voters learning the status of their ballot?
10. Were impacted voters informed about the actions they must take, if any, in
order to have their ballots counted?
11. Has your office determined when the redistricting error occurred; has your
office launched an investigation into how many voters were affected each
year since the boundary discrepancies changed either in 2013 or 2015?
12. How many district boundaries were changed geographically?
13. What was the population of each district prior to the boundaries being
changed? What was the population of each district after the boundaries
were changed in each subsequent year until the error was discovered last
week?
14. Can you provide the number of registered voters in each district prior to
the boundaries being changed? Can you provide the number of registered
voters in each district after the boundaries were changed?
15. What instructions were provided to poll workers regarding the use of
special ballots on Primary Day? What instructions were provided to poll
workers following disclosure of the impacted voters? Were copies of any
written instructions or revised protocols disseminated to voters on Primary
Day? Were poll workers informed which voters were impacted and which
voters should be issued special ballots, and, if so, how?
16. Were any news alerts issued on Primary Day? If so, where were these
placed and in what languages? What other steps were taken to
communicate with impacted voters on Election Day?
17. Can you provide all documents (including email, text messages, telephone
conversations, letters sent via post) that your office issued to the County
officials concerning this issue?
18. What steps are your offices taking to prevent the recurrence of such a
problem in future elections including the November midterms?

As you know, federal and state laws create obligations for informing voters whether any
provisional or special ballots were counted. It is essential that voters have confidence in the
electoral process and also critical that this kind of incident never happens again. To that
end, we are requesting that you provide answers to our questions by Wednesday, August
15, 2018, before the date of official certification on August 20, 2018.10 We are also
requesting a meeting with you to discuss this matter and to determine what happened and
what steps must be taken to prevent its recurrence.
10 Hamilton County Voters Impacted by Boundary Discrepancy, supra note 2.
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We look forward to hearing from you by Wednesday, August 15, 2018. Please send your
responses to Marcia Johnson-Blanco at mblanco@lawyerscommittee.org, Ezra Rosenberg at
erosenberg@lawyerscommittee.org, Anson Asaka at aasaka@naacpnet.org, and Dr. Eleanor
Woods at naacpchattanooga@epbfi.com. If you would like to set up a time to speak on the
phone regarding this matter, please contact (202) 662-8319. We thank you for your
immediate attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

/s/
Marcia Johnson-Blanco
Co-director of the Voting Rights Project
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

/s/
Ezra Rosenberg
Co-director of the Voting Rights Project
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

/s/
Dr. Eleanor Woods
President
The Chattanooga Branch NAACP

/s/
Dr. Sekou Franklin, Ph.D.
1921 11th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37208

/s/
Democracy Nashville-Democratic Communities
P.O. Box 282482
Nashville, TN 37228