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Daily Dose for December 31, 2007
Election Commission Security Under Question
Election Commission Security Under Question -- State Election Coordinator Brook Thompson said his office will be talking with county election commissions across the state to remind them to take extra precautions to protect voters’ identifications, following the recent theft of two laptop computers around Christmas at the Davidson County Election Commission. Thieves in Nashville made off with computers with the Social Security numbers of all registered voters in Davidson Co. Officials at Common Cause Tennessee say the break-in may lead voters to question the integrity of the election process and thus depress turnout.
Alexander Continues to Push Election Reform -- Sen. Lamar Alexander continues to push his plan to change the way the US elects Presidents and lay aside fears that Presidential elections are determined too prematurely. Under Alexander's plan, Iowa and New Hampshire would continue to hold the first elections, but other states would hold rotating primaries in their region. States would vote in special regional primaries that would rotate, allowing northeastern states to kick off the primary season one year, the South four years later, the Midwest and West after that. The change would spread out the votes and, Alexander hopes, stretch out the primary season and the viability of individual candidates, for months. Many state legislatures and state political parties, however, are leery of a system that would force them to spend multiple election cycles at the back of the election calendar. Some constitutional scholars have questioned whether a federal primary system could hold up in court. Scheduling elections is a power the Constitution delegates to the states, not the federal government.
TRA to Push For Ending Exemption to Smoking Ban -- Tennessee Restaurant Association President and CEO Ronnie Hart said he is lobbying for the 21-and-up exemption that allowed some restaurants to continue to allow smoking to be eliminated because too many owners are not following the "spirit of the law." Hart says the exemption has cost some employees their jobs, since the ban effectively limits restaurant owners to hire only employees over 21. However, some restaurant owners are not happy about the smoking ban at all - saying it is dramatically reducing sales. More here.
Lawsuit Filed to Stop Bredesen Bunker -- On Friday, Republican activist Thomas Kovach of Mt. Juliet, 20 miles away, filed a lawsuit to halt the construction of the controversial underground entertainment hall at the Governor's Mansion. Controversy over the plan to build an underground entertainment hall has grown over the past few weeks with Republicans leading the way in opposition and local residents of the Oak Hill neighborhood near the residence also fighting the project. The Commercial Appeal has a good summary of the controversy.
