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Lisa Quigley Profile picture
Lisa Quigley
@LisaQuigleyTN
Feeding kids w/ Tusk Philanthropies @SolvingHunger. Ex-COS @JimCooperTN. Preoccupied by failing democracies in TN & US. Thx to all who followed me here.
Jun 8, 2023 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
I will be eager to hear the constitutional lawyers "take" on this for TN, but this is why I do not think Tennessee Dems should be too excited.

Could I be wrong? Yes. I'd prefer to be.

But here's my read:

1/ Point #1: There was never a case filed on the division of the congressional district. What was needed was PROOF that CD5 was being divided because of RACE, not POLITICS. John Ryder locked that down. Told GOP to not put ANYTHING in writing. Phone calls only...

2/
Oct 27, 2020 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
2) “Chief Justice Roberts Jr. filed a brief explaining why the WI case differed from the one from PA in which the justices deadlocked over whether the state’s Supreme Court could extend the deadline for mailed ballots by three days.” 3) “While one case granted authority of state courts to apply their own constitutions to election regs, this case involves federal intrusion on state lawmaking.

Different bodies of law & different precedents require that we allow modification of election rules in PA but not WI.”
Oct 26, 2020 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
I stand by my advice. I am reading the letter by @USPS.

I certainly hope that the ballot gets to them in time, but we are now in the danger zone, ie the ballot might arrive AFTER the election.

I would not trust that by applying today, you can get it back in time.

Full stop. BTW, our SOS knew that our laws were incompatible when the @USPS told him in July.

He could have:

1) worked w/ the Governor to make a change under exec order;

2) widely publicized problem to encourage EARLY ordering of absentee applications.

He did neither.
Oct 24, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
This is 💯 spot on.

Our SOS was told in July that TN’s state deadlines are incompatible with the service that @USPS can provide.

So, we have a voter reg APPLICATION deadline coming up on Tuesday, but that’s RIDICULOUS, because... ...the ballot either won’t arrive to the voter in time or won’t arrive back to the election commission in time for the vote to be counted. It MUST arrive thru the mail/UPS/FedEx/DHL by the time the polls close.

The USPS advises that mailing next week...
Oct 15, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
1) Context for the first day of Early Vote in Davidson Co.

Hint: It's really gooooooood news, y'all!

Ok, so Day 1 of EV in 2016 was 12,303.
Today, Day 1 of EV was 12,899.

At first glance, one might say, well, good, but only 596 more.

HOWEVER, this does NOT include absentees. 2) Usually, they announce absentees as they are coming in, but not today.

We will have the absentee number tomorrow am, but according to reporting by @MariahTimms, @DavidsonVotes had received 18,298 absentee ballots as of last Saturday. WOW!!!!
Oct 13, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
This is the same kind of finger pointing that happens in TN.

Our SOS: “It’s the counties who run the elections and the legislature who makes the laws!”

Then what exactly do you do here?

Oh yes: Make sure TN is following the voter suppression playbook.

Do this by... 1) Advising GOP legislature what to vote for/against & convincing Governor to leave “all things voting related” up to you.

2) Telling counties EXPLICITLY what they can/cannot do when it comes to suppressing the vote...but leaving it up to them to figure out when voting expands.
Oct 12, 2020 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
1) Want to provide context for what we will start seeing this week as Nashville heads to the polls & absentees come in.

It’s often hard to interpret the #s if you don’t have historical context.

The #s don’t lie, so let me give you what might seem, at first, to be discouraging. 2) We can learn a lot from patterns & relationship between Aug & Nov turnouts.

So 1st thing to understand is that the August primary vote is usually very low. As in, more voters turn up for our mayoral races than turn up for federal/state primaries.

This year was no exception.
Oct 11, 2020 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
1) Attn voters in Williamson Co!

Your county election commission is putting out FALSE information, in defiance of a federal judge’s order.

See circled area below, pointing to a “reason” that an absentee ballot can be rejected.

Wrong! 1st time voters CAN use an absentee ballot! 2) This was sent to me by parent of a 1st-time voter. His absentee ballot request was flagged due to a signature verification issue, which is a legitimate way to determine a voter’s identity.

They’re working to correct the issue w/ their son who is away at college. All good.
Sep 29, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Reminder: There are NO DROP BOXES in TENNESSEE. Voters must use @USPS.

You cannot take your absentee ballot & leave it at a polling site either -- or even at the county election commission office.

Again, TN is an outlier. Most states (even many "red" ones!) have drop boxes. Image The ONLY "helpful" concession is that Nashvillians can take their ballots to 901 Broadway by 5:00 sharp on Election Day & turn over their ballot there. This is really impt if you receive your absentee ballot late in October.

DON'T risk mailing it then. Take it to 901 Broadway.
Sep 28, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
The only other omission I see is the remaining matter concerning 1st-time voters & the absentee ballot.

The Richardson ruling had the effect of forcing election officials to SEND voters an absentee ballot, but not necessarily to COUNT it.

In order for the vote to COUNT... ...voters are still going to have to send in a photo ID. That law stands.

This is a big deal & state is providing no guidance on this. They say the ruling is under appeal. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Well, their wishful appeal is standing in the way of voters who are voting & want their vote to count!
Sep 26, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
So this is consistent with non-guidance on the SOS website. This MUST be resolved because 1st-time voters using an absentee ballot deserve to have their votes counted.

In Davidson County, the commission met yesterday, and this is what was provided: @DavidsonVotes will contact all 1st- time voters who haven’t voted on the machine before—and who requested an absentee ballot—will be asked to send a copy of their ID/passport w/ their application.

For those who already submitted their absentee ballots...
Sep 25, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
OMG.

What is this on TN SOS website?

Voters “may still need to provide identification when you send back your ballot.”

MAY need to? Or may not?

How does the voter know?

How will the voter be informed?

What exactly will the voter need to provide?

When?

How? Image It was pretty obvious after Judge Richardson’s ruling allowing first-time voters to access an absentee ballot that the decision was running straight up against TN’s photo ID law.

I expected a remedy from the state as soon as the ruling came down.

That didn’t happen.
Sep 24, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
1) There's a LOT of damage that will be done if the ACA is overturned, not the least of which--& so impt to me--is that my daughter would be instantly uninsurable.

But that's just MY family. Every family has something at stake.

Let's consider parents of young adult children. 2) There are more adult children now living w/ their parents at any time in American history. They have either lost jobs or they cannot find a job due to the pandemic.

Thankfully, that stress is not exacerbated by having no health insurance if that young adult is under 26.
Sep 23, 2020 • 23 tweets • 5 min read
"Trump’s legal teams are laying the groundwork for postelection maneuvers that would circumvent results of the vote count. Ambiguities in the Constitution make it possible to extend the dispute all the way to Inauguration Day, which would bring the nation to a precipice."

1/X "The Twentieth Amendment is crystal clear that the president’s term in office 'shall end' at noon on January 20, but two men could show up to be sworn in. One of them would arrive with all the tools and power of the presidency already in hand."

2/X
Sep 13, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
“In 1961, Estes Kefauver, the crusading Democratic senator from Tennessee, denounced the Electoral College as ‘a loaded pistol pointed at our system of government.’ “Its continued existence, he said, as he opened hearings on election reform, created ‘a game of Russian roulette’ because, at some point, the antidemocratic distortions of the College could threaten the country’s integrity.”
Sep 13, 2020 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
The @USPS postcard issue is important because the “one size fits all” info provided is confusing to voters. Each state has different voting specs.

The @USPS shouldn’t be confusing voters.

Some SOSs asked to review the info b4 the cards were sent, but were denied. Then those SOSs asked that their state be taken off distribution list. Also denied.

If the @USPS wanted to HELP voters, they could have simply asked SOSs to provide accurate info about voting in their states.
Sep 10, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
This was a very bad day for the TN GOP & the Gov who slavishly follows the SecofState.

1) LOST federal lawsuit in ruling by Trump-appointed federal Judge. GOP wanted to restrict access to absentee ballots for 1st time voters. Now they get treated like everyone else. 2) Teacher of GOP voter suppression for 38 years, lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg, repudiated his entire career’s argument that voter fraud is rampant in the US. Hargett gives same argument to justify TN voter laws. Always.

Ginsberg says voter fraud isn’t the problem. But Trump is.
Sep 9, 2020 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Example from @AP this summer:

“Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked Hargett why Tennessee doesn’t have drop boxes, since officials are concerned nationally about U.S. Postal Service delays with the huge influx of by-mail ballots across the country.” Hargett: “Frankly, it’s an anti-coercion methodology. If you look at it, if someone knows you’ve got an absentee ballot, they can say, ‘Hey, I’ll be glad to take that & drop that off for you,’ they can ask you what you filled that ballot out or they can not turn it in at all.”
Sep 4, 2020 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
Thank you @WPLN!

& please be absolutely certain that info you provide is checked out.

TN SOS has developed one of the most suppressive voting regimes in the country, so please ask experts if what they say is actually how it works IRL.

Constantly amazed at the deception &... ...their efforts to make it harder for people to vote.

They have even gone to court — twice— to deny us absentee voting, in the middle of a pandemic.

Thanks to a badass judge, most of us now qualify, but go ahead & ask them about drop boxes or...
Sep 3, 2020 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
1) Looking for “what to do” today to help w/ voting in TN?

It’s easy & you don’t have to leave your home — or your sofa!

Make your list of 25 people in TN to “check their voting status”. All you need is the GoVoteTN app on your phone & their zip code.

I will start w/ me! ImageImage 2) If I wasn’t registered, here’s what I would see.

If you see this for your friend—& you are certain of proper spelling of their name & zip code—they are NOT registered.

How to raise this w/ them? 🤔

I know! 😀 “Oh no! You may have been purged! TN excels at purging voters!” Image
Aug 30, 2020 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
For those wanting to know what they can do, while sitting at home, about voting in TN, I have a suggestion: 😀

Preface: You probably think “everyone I know votes—those OTHER people are the problem.”

Nope! We KNOW that only 1/2 of eligible voters vote in the US. Worse in TN. In fact, just assume the opposite is true: “I KNOW a lot of these people!”

Your job: identify them & assist.

So, make a list today. Push yourself to identify 25 people. Colleagues, college friends, your hairdresser, nieces & nephews, the friendly barista at the drive-thru.