Author

Kathy Carlson
Kathy Carlson is a veteran newspaper reporter and copy editor, with stints at the Nashville Banner and Tennessean. At the Tennessean, she worked on the police and business beats. She later wrote about employment law for M. Lee Smith Publishers. 1 For the past several years, she has been a freelance journalist. As a contributor to the Nashville Ledger, she has written about COVID-19, public health, education, voting during the pandemic, and a variety of governmental, legal and policy issues. Several ofher Ledger articles have received first-prize recognition 2 in Tennessee Press Association annual competitions. She will be working as a volunteer poll watcher with Organize Tennessee on Thursday.
Tennesseans seek to move on from COVID, even as a new variant appears
By: Kathy Carlson - January 19, 2023
Get used to it, but not over it. That may be the best advice for living with COVID-19 as 2023 starts and as the recent XBB.1.5 variant debuts in Tennessee. More than three years since COVID first arrived, the virus that causes it – SARS-CoV-2 – continues to mutate. XBB.1.5 is more contagious than the […]
Tennessee’s voter registration numbers for midterm show little to no uptick
By: Kathy Carlson - October 18, 2022
Interviews with Tennessee election administrators show that people are registering to vote at roughly the same pace or slightly lower levels than previous years, a hint that voter turnout in this year’s midterm elections will be low. And there’s little sign that the June 24 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Roe […]
Tennessee poll watchers see ‘democracy at work’
By: Kathy Carlson - August 3, 2022
When voters show up at polls across the state tomorrow, they may see not only the familiar local election workers but also a growing number of newly credentialed poll watchers. Interest in becoming a poll watcher in Tennessee seems to be on the upswing, anecdotal information indicates. There are no statewide statistics on the appointment […]