Author

Kathy Carlson

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.

James Burroughs waits to get the first dose of his COVID-19 at Neighborhood Health in Nashville. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Tennesseans seek to move on from COVID, even as a new variant appears
By: - 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 […]

A sign reminds voters they need photo ID to vote at polling station at Hillsboro Presbyterian Church on Election Day, Nov. 6, 2018 in Nashville. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Tennessee’s voter registration numbers for midterm show little to no uptick
By: - 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 […]

(Photo: Mario Tamo/Getty Images)

Purged: Tennessee’s processes for maintaining voter rolls
By: - September 27, 2022

A sign reminds voters they need photo ID to vote at polling station at Hillsboro Presbyterian Church on Election Day, Nov. 6, 2018 in Nashville. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Tennessee poll watchers see ‘democracy at work’
By: - 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 […]

RETURN TO HOME