Happy Friday, Tennessee! It’s the final election stretch!! Here’s a roundup of all the stories that caught our eye this week.
We’re starting to see signs of what might get a vote in Congress in the Lame Duck session. Look for federal updates on the POPVOX blog.
And did you see coverage of POPVOX/TN in Nooga this week?
- For the first time, more Tennesseeans may cast votes early than on election day.
- Thinking of writing in a candidate? Read this.
- TN Secretary of State Tre Hargett reminds Tennesseeans that no TN voting machines are connected to the internet and we “can have confidence in elections.”
- Former Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren once said the “most important case “ of his career was Baker v. Carr, about Tennessee redistricting practices.
- Despite what you may have heard, Justin Timberlake is not under investigation by the Shelby County DA for his “ballot selfie,” but they are still technically illegal in TN. (State laws are all over the place on this).
- TN’s two largest cities may be under investigation soon: DoJ announced a review of the Memphis Police Department this week. And a new “Driving While Black” study of racial disparity in traffic stops may lead to a federal investigation of the Nashville PD.
- Governor Haslam gave a high five (really) to students across the state for good news about 4th & 8th grade science test scores. “Huge strides” include: higher scores & higher rate of increase than national average, progress closing the achievement gap between white and minority students and between girls and boys. We could get used to headlines like this.
- Problems remain: new report on discipline in TN schools shows high racial disparity in suspensions, including one Memphis school that suspended two-thirds of its student body.
- A Nashville judge found rules regulating short-term rentals like AirBNB unconstitutionally vague and no one really knows what the impact of that ruling will be. The town of Hendersonville just passed a ban on short-term rentals.
- Nashville was chosen for two different tech pilot programs — for driverless cars and open data.
- Some lawmakers are requesting more transparency by the Three-Star Healthy Task Force (committee charged with designing a Medicaid expansion plan that could both win federal approval and pass the TN legislature).
- Two reps are calling for action to address problems with the state’s health exchange.
- Related: So far on POPVOX, 76% support efforts to expand TennCare to the coverage gap. ADD YOUR VOICE
- An EPA report criticized Tennessee for “lax enforcement” of environmental laws.
- Here are the ten most endangered historic properties in the state.
- Check out state reps trying out virtual reality hosted by theCO at this week’s Governor’s Conference. (Some had pretty great form).
- Motherboard calls Chattanooga “the city that was saved by the Internet,” but not everyone has benefitted.
- Related: So far on POPVOX, 100% support lifting restrictions that prohibit utilities and other public broadband providers from expanding outside their electric service jurisdictions. ADD YOUR VOICE
Spotlight on: Criminal Justice Reform in Tennessee
Add your voice
As of October 25, 2016, forty people have weighed in from across the state on the question of whether the Tennessee General Assembly should take up Criminal Justice Reform in 2017. Of those, 93% support, 7% oppose.
On POPVOX, individuals may choose to support or oppose any issue presented. Input is tallied and posted on a map of Tennessee, sortable by state house or state senate district. They may also choose to write a message, which is delivered to their lawmakers and posted on POPVOX with an anonymous or user-determined screen name, along with their Congressional District.
Some recent comments include:
I support Efforts to enact criminal justice reform legislation in the 2017 Tennessee General Assembly because Incarceration costs and the lack of inmate rehabilitation necessitates open consideration of alternatives. — Constituent453723
I support Efforts to enact criminal justice reform legislation in the 2017 Tennessee General Assembly because I would like to see our courts hand it stiffer penalties for real criminals and if they are on death row don’t leave them there for years and give them years to appeal. — Constituent453812
POPVOX is not a poll. It’s a platform for delivering actual input from real constituents to lawmakers. To see what others are saying and add your voice on this and other issues, visit POPVOX/TN and check out the federal POPVOX to weigh in on bills before Congress.
