Shelby County Democrats, Memphis NAACP sue over early voting sites

Ryan Poe | Memphis Commercial Appeal

Show Caption Hide Caption Corey Strong Shelby County Democratic Party chairman Corey Strong speaks during a press conference.

The Shelby County Democratic Party and the Memphis NAACP filed separate lawsuits Friday in an attempt to open inner-city early voting sites at the start of early voting.

The party filed its lawsuit against the Shelby County Election Commission in Chancery Court shortly before noon, arguing that the commission's plan to limit voting to three sites for the first four days of early voting disenfranchised voters in inner-city Memphis, many of whom rely on public transportation. Early voting lasts from July 13-28.

"It is clear that the Election Commission is refusing to take our concerns and the communities we serve seriously," the party said in a statement. "The Election Commission’s solutions are unacceptable and do not adequately address the unfair and unjust consequences that these actions place on the average voter in Shelby County."

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At a press conference that afternoon, SCDP chairman Corey Strong added: "The Election Commission needs to understand they serve the people, not the other way around."

The Memphis branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People filed its lawsuit three hours later, making the same argument.

"As the oldest civil rights organization in the United States, our focus has always been to protect the sanctity of the voters’ rights," Deidre Malone, president of the NAACP Memphis Branch said in a statement. "In review of the current policies enacted by the Shelby County Election Commission, it is clear that there is a potential for disenfranchisement by not opening all voting sites early. Our lawsuit will hopefully remedy that concern and balance the opportunity for all Shelby Countians, regardless of race, socioeconomic status or political party, to make it to the polls without unnecessary barriers."

Both lawsuits seek to open all 21 of the early voting sites that were used in the primary elections earlier this year at the same time, even though Election Commission staff said that was impossible at such short notice before the election and with limited personnel.

The SCDP and Memphis NAACP have separate hearings scheduled for Monday to ask for a chancellor to require the Election Commission to open all sites on July 13.

The Election Commission initially planned to open a single site at Agricenter International, on the city's eastern edge, between July 13-17. The Election Commission decision came after six months of planning — or "scheming," according to Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis — flying under the radar for most citizens until the June 26 vote.

"It's not a plan, it's a scheme," Hardaway said during the press conference. "A scheme designed to suppress the vote."

However, after Democrats protested, the commission voted June 29 to instead open sites at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Germantown, a predominantly Republican area; at Abundant Grace Fellowship Church in Whitehaven, a predominantly Democratic area; and at the commission's operations center at 980 Nixon Drive, not far from the Agricenter, an area where turnout is more evenly balanced but skews GOP.

The plan, although widely rejected by the Democratic activists who attended the meeting, was proposed by Democratic Commissioner Norma Lester as a compromise.

Malone said the decision "disenfranchised" inner-city voters, many of whom rely on public transportation, making long treks to polls disproportionately difficult.

Election Commission chairman Robert Meyers said he didn't immediately have a comment on the lawsuits or the demands for more inner-city voting sites. However, Meyers and commission staffers previously defended the plan, arguing from election data that the number of locations in those four days doesn't affect overall turnout.

Lee Mills, chairman of the Republican Party of Shelby County, responded to the controversy on Twitter: "Frivolous lawsuit. Where was the lawsuit when the downtown location was the only open location and 'disenfranchised' suburban voters?"

Attorney Alexander Wharton of the Wharton Law Firm, the son of former Memphis mayor A C Wharton, is representing the NAACP in the lawsuit, Malone said.

Tami Sawyer, a Democratic candidate for Shelby County Commission who was working with both organizations, said the Election Commission plan defies the purpose of early voting: to make voting easier for the historically disenfranchised.

"To take that away laughs in the face of early voting," she said.

In addition to the location of early voting sites, Shelby County Democrats have also taken issue with the number. The commission voted June 26 to add five new early voting sites between July 18-28 — three in Republican areas, one in a Democratic area, and one in a more neutral "purple" area — bringing the total number of sites up to 26.

The SCDP and the NAACP are calling on the commission to remove those new sites, lowering the number to the 21 sites used during early voting in the May primaries.

In contrast, Davidson County has 11 early voting sites, and its sole July 13-18 early voting location is at the Howard Office Building in downtown Nashville. State law only requires one early voting site to open in the initial days of early voting, local Election Commission officials said.

In the June 29 meeting, Lester said she didn't take issue with the site additions and that more voting sites would still be in predominantly Democratic areas.

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In response to the Election Commission decisions, some Democrats are planing a "D-Day" to flood the polls on the first day of early voting, especially at the polls in predominantly Republican areas.

Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @ryanpoe.