Reply #22: TN: Elam Thinks Early Voting Setup Cost Her Votes [View All]

[livvy]

Thursday, 08/10/06
Elam thinks early voting setup cost her votes

By NATALIA MIELCZAREK
Staff Writer

Wilson County voters had two early voting sites to choose from: one at the county Election Commission headquarters in Lebanon and the other in Mt. Juliet. Those using the Lebanon site had twice as long to vote, however, and Mt. Juliet Mayor Linda Elam thinks that might have affected the outcome.

Mt. Juliet officials asked the county to staff the site there because of a long ballot in local races and paid $10,000 for the service, Elam said. She said that request came in 85 days before early voting started, a time frame she considered sufficient for the county to staff Mt. Juliet the entire period of early voting, which was two weeks.

But because the county used two different voting machines — some old and some new — and because the equipment arrived in late June, leaving little time for training, the Election Commission was able to staff Mt. Juliet for only the second of the two weeks, said Lynn Harris, county election administrator.

One of the most heated races was for the county mayor's seat between the incumbent Robert Dedman and Elam, who lost.

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http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060810/NEWS01/608100397