Politics
Lawsuit means COVID caution is reason for absentee ballot
All Tennessee voters can now request an absentee ballot from their county election commission following a Nashville judge’s ruling last week in a lawsuit filed by plaintiffs who said they did not want to vote in person because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled that voters can check the box that says […]
BREAKING: Judge strikes down TN limits on absentee voting due to pandemic
A Nashville judge ruled Thursday that voters under 60 may request an absentee ballot due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making Tennessee one of the last states to expand mail-in voting in the nation. The ruling by Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle sets up a showdown in the state’s more conservative appeals court system. Plaintiffs, including Tennessee […]
Mayor Cooper: Nashville not ready from public health perspective to host RNC
Nashville Mayor John Cooper acknowledged on Thursday that tourism-starved Music City wants to get its convention business up and running again, but said the city is not where it needs to be from a public health perspective right now to host the Republican Nashville Convention. Gov. Bill Lee said earlier this week he has had […]
Cohen: Police violence, voter suppression are 2 ‘sides to the same coin’
WASHINGTON — As demonstrators continue to flood streets around the country to protest police brutality and racial inequality, communities of color remain disproportionately threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic and voter suppression, a Tennessee Democratic lawmaker warned this week. The pandemic “has exacerbated pre-existing inequalities, disproportionately impacting African Americans among other historically disadvantaged people,” Rep. Steve […]
TN Attorney General: excuse-free absentee voting has too much room for voter error and fraud
A Nashville judge will rule on Thursday whether to expand excuse-free absentee voting to any voter who requests a mail-in ballot after hearing arguments from the state and plaintiffs who say the expansion is needed because of the ongoing pandemic. An attorney for the Tennessee Attorney General said such an expansion of absentee voting would […]
Tennessee faith leaders react to Trump photo-op
Religious leaders from across Tennessee reacted to a White House tweet showing President Donald Trump’s response to protests that have rocked the country in recent days. The video displayed in the tweet shows President Trump walking toward and standing in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church while holding a Bible in front of the church’s […]
Gov. Lee interested in bringing GOP convention to Nashville
Gov. Bill Lee is interested in rerouting the Republican Nashville Convention from Charlotte, where the event has faced questions from Democratic political leaders, to Nashville this summer, a source confirmed to Tennessee Lookout. Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp President and CEO Butch Spyridon said he has not had any discussions with the GOP about moving […]
Nashville budget chair says lack of body cameras result of poor planning by former mayors
Nashville’s last two mayors hold responsibility for the city’s failure to purchase body cameras for police, a Nashville councilmember said over the weekend. Councilmember at Large Bob Mendes, chair of the Metro Council of Nashville and Davidson County’s budget committee, made the remarks in a Facebook live conversation about the city’s $2.45 billion budget with […]
Team Joe skateboards towards the White House
Use of the Internet has probably changed thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic (Zoom, anyone?) but most Americans probably have not experienced anything nearly as profound as what Nashvillian Joseph Romano, 31, discovered recently while using social media. That’s because Joseph, who goes by Joe, learned while checking his Instagram account that voters across the country […]
Trump’s TVA nominees pressed on climate views, IG firings
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats grilled President Donald Trump’s nominees for the Tennessee Valley Authority on Tuesday about climate change and the administration’s recent firings of top agency watchdogs. Trump nominated former Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell and East Tennessee State University President Brian Noland to fill out TVA’s board of directors. The president also […]
Is Voting a Right or a Risk?
On Tuesday, Gov. Bill Lee said he will not allow expanded mail-in ballots. “What we want to do in this state is remove a reason to have fear about going to the polling booths,” Lee said. While planning to reopen the state is a complex undertaking, removing any fear of in-person polling is simple: Expanding […]
Update: DNC Member Owen: “I didn’t give money to McConnell”
On Wednesday, the Tennessee Lookout reported Bill Owen, a former state senator from Knoxville and one of four Tennessee members on the Democratic National Committee, survived a challenge from party officials that would have removed him from the DNC. Among the charges levied against him were his numerous contributions to Republican elected officials. Owen has […]