NASHVILLE, April 11 (UPI) -- After the United Nations sent election observers in 2012 to Tennessee, state legislators objected to an alleged violation of sovereignty, as well as joining a category of troubled nations with suspicious elections, including Libya and Cambodia.

A bill barring United Nations observers from monitoring Tennessee elections was approved this week by the state Senate, 23-2, after passing by 75-20 in the state House. It awaits the signature of Republican Gov. Bill Halsam.


The United Nations, accustomed to more chaotic places on the globe, has overseen selected elections since 1991, and 44 observers from Europe’s Organization for Security and Cooperation were sent to the United States in 2012 to determine if photo identification requirements, including those in Tennessee, affected voter turnout.

The alleged intrusion of the United Nations was seen as an affront to the state’s sovereignty by Republican House Rep. Micha Van Huss, who sponsored the bill, reading in full:

“Any representative of the United Nations appearing without a treaty ratified by the United States Senate stating that the United Nations can monitor elections in this state, shall not monitor elections in this state.”

[International Business Times]

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