Category Archives: Ballot Initiatives

Extreme makeover: recall edition

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On November 6, 2012, Chattanooga voters opted to amend their city charter by repealing one section and inserting new language having to do with recalling an elected official.

Or, put another way, Chattanooga voters simply made official what a state appellate court has already decided: that the requirements pertaining to validation of petition signatures have been set by the Legislature.

Several provisions in Chattanooga’s recall procedure were out of line with state law, but the one change that motivated this amendment—from requiring 50% of the number of voters in the last election to requiring 15% of registered voters—is one of two* pieces the state statute leaves flexible. Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-5-151 (j) carves out the ability for qualified municipalities to set their own numeric thresholds, if they enact or amend charters after June 1997.

Do you feel like you just went in a circle? Hold tight and get something to clench your teeth on, because this post is going to get wonk-y. Continue reading →

New for November, the Nooga voter guides

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TennesseeTicket.com has again collaborated with Nooga.com to produce voter guides for the 2012 election in Hamilton County, Tennessee.* Click the logo to get started.

The Nooga.com guides include the following races and ballot measures:
Federal

  • President & Vice President
  • U.S. Senate
  • U.S. House – District 3
  • U.S. House – District 4

State

  • State Senate – District 10
  • State House – District 26
  • State House – District 27
  • State House – District 28
  • State House – District 29
  • State House – District 30

Municipal

  • Chattanooga City Charter

*Note: voters outside Hamilton County but in Tennessee can find all their state and federal candidates listed right here on the Tennessee Ticket voter guides.

Tennessee House
Tennessee Senate
U.S. House
U.S. Senate

The Tennessee House page is still being updated from August, and I’ll post another announcement when it’s finished.

Introducing the all-new August 2012 Voter Guide

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Since 2006, when another blogger and I collaborated to bring you “Battle for the General Assembly” (a guide to that year’s state legislative races), this site has sought ways to pool resources in an effort to bring you the most comprehensive and usable information about your ballot.

In partnership with Nooga.com


This year, I am happy to announce a partnership with Nooga.com to provide Chattanooga and Hamilton County voters with a comprehensive* voter guide for the upcoming August election. I want it to be clear that Nooga’s managing editor and political reporter have put in the lion’s share of the work on it, but that I did contribute significantly.

In addition, I remain committed to the statewide project that comprises the pages below:

Thank you for doing you civic duty: not only voting, but doing your best to find your best fit among the candidates and ballot questions. Continue to let me know how I can increase the value this site brings.

*I realize that, at the moment, the judicial retention questions are not yet included. I’m working on those.

Abortion-related Constitution amendment clears Senate hurdle

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SJR 127, a resolution to offer voters the chance to amend the Tennessee Constitution regarding abortion rights, was approved on Monday by the Senate in a 24-8 vote. It had previously won approval with a simple majority in both houses of the 106th General Assembly.

The measure will now move to the House, where, this time, it must also pass with a two-thirds majority in order to be put before voters in the 2014 election. (Why not 2012? Keep reading.)

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, who as Speaker presided over the vote, praised today’s action in a statement:

For years liberal Democratic parliamentary maneuvering has thwarted passage of this resolution which has enjoyed strong support from majorities both inside and outside the legislature. I am proud to be a part of the pro-life Republican majority that will finally bring an end to judicial activist usurpation and put this measure to a vote of the people.

Democrat Betsy Phillips wasn’t so sure about the amendment’s legal footing. On her Twitter page, she noted that “by passing this amendment, we’ve brought the state constitution into conflict with itself, I think.” Phillips clarified this thought with a reference to Planned Parenthood v. Sundquist, in which the Tennessee Supreme Court decided that the Constitution’s right to privacy includes a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy. “I think the courts are going to have to decide if privacy rights outweigh abortion non-rights or not,” wrote Phillips.

The amendment itself:

Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.

What’s next? As stated above, the proposed amendment must pass with a two-thirds majority (at least 66 votes) in the House of Representatives. Following that, provided it passes, and does not get vetoed by Governor Haslam, the ballot in the next gubernatorial election (November 2014) will include a referendum containing the amendment language. Constitution amendments are decided by voters in gubernatorial elections only, presumably to ensure a high turnout.

This ballot measure will pass if it receives a number of votes equal to half of the total votes cast for governor, plus one. If that happens, the state constitution will be amended.

Memphians give up city schools for Lent (or longer)

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According to early results, voters in Memphis have “overwhelmingly” decided to surrender the administration of their city school system to Shelby County control.

Local readers will recall that, about seventeen years ago, Hamilton County and Chattanooga incurred a roughly similar school system merger.

With that in mind, Memphis and Shelby County are hereby wished all good things.