News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Putnam County Election Administrator Michelle Honeycutt said the local election office often hears concerns about voting integrity, but voters should feel confident when casting their ballot.
Tennessee has been ranked by the Heritage Foundation as the most secure elections in the country. Honeycutt said ever since the November 2020 presidential election, the office regularly receives calls questioning absentee ballots.
“Most of them are phone calls, and they do want to know who receives an absentee ballot, how many are out there and how many are left,” Honeycutt said. “The difference in what you hear from some of the states that happened in 2020 and us is in Tennessee you have to request your absentee ballot.”
Honeycutt said some states do not require voters to request ballots. Honeycutt said in Putnam County, there should never be extra ballots found based on state law.
“In some of the states if you are just on the list, they automatically receive a ballot,” Honeycutt said. “I know we had a gentlemen that worked early voting for us. He told me his son has lived here for five years and yet he got three ballots from California because he used to live there. Things like that are not going to happen in Tennessee.”
State law also protects ballot boxes. Honeycutt said the election commission before every election evaluates the security of voting boxes, tests voting machines and checks accurate tabulation.
The voter registration deadline for the Nov. 8 State and Federal General Election is next Tuesday. Early voting starts October 19th until November 3rd. The deadline to request an absentee by-mail ballot is November 1.
