In 2008, with almost no dissent and with voting across party lines,
the Tennessee legislature overwhelmingly approved the Voter Confidence
Act, which mandates, among other things, the universal statewide use by
2010 of optical-scan voting machines capable of electronically recording citizens’ ballots and
providing a paper trail of those votes in event of challenge.
Between the passage of the act and now, however, came the
legislative elections of 2008, which gave the Republican Party a
majority of one in the state House of Representatives and allowed the
GOP technical control over the chamber’s internal organization.
Together with the existing Republican dominance of the state Senate,
the election mandated numerous other significant changes, including the
reversal of the 3-2 ratio on county election commissions previously
favoring Democrats as the official “majority” party.
That happened also to be the year that Democrats won control of the
presidency and of Congress — meaning that the rough political
balance, both nationally and statewide, made the forthcoming 2010 races
especially crucial.
Newly named secretary of state in Nashville, Tre Hargett, and the
newly appointed director of state elections, Mark Goins, both
Republicans, contended that the technical requirements of the act made
it impossible to distribute the machines by next year.
They are clearly prepared to stall the situation until the
legislature reconvenes in 2010 and can review and perhaps cancel the
Voter Confidence Act.
Predictably, Democrats are howling at what they see as sabotage and
subterfuge, and the issue plainly needs to be settled. Accordingly, we
welcome the suit filed against state officials this week by Common
Cause in Davidson County’s Chancery Court. The issue clearly needs to
be resolved by the judiciary and not by politicians of whatever
stripe.
Facilities for the Public
As John Branston observes in his Flyer blog “Get Memphis
Moving,” the number of free community sports facilities and the hours
they are open are declining.
City and county division directors are under pressure to cut
budgets, but they should be careful where they make the cuts. As parks
and recreation director Cindy Buchanan notes, the city is probably
overstocked with baseball fields and indoor tennis courts but has too
few community centers and swimming pools. To its credit, the city
charges nothing for use of its 13 outdoor pools and four indoor pools,
but keeping them open is the problem.
It’s been said before, but it needs to be said again. The
much-too-big Liberty Bowl stadium is used fewer than 10 times a year
and only by elite athletes and costs millions of dollars to operate and
maintain. An outdoor basketball complex or playing field is open 365
days a year. A community center is the only opportunity some Memphians
have to enjoy regular indoor exercise, even though the facilities fall
far short of the private fitness clubs in the suburbs.
We applaud the members of the Memphis City Council who speak up for
community centers and public sports facilities. The dollars supposedly
saved by cutting back hours and staffing at recreational facilities
will be spent somewhere else down the road on crime control and health
care.
