Witnesses say poll workers turned voters away, didn’t offer provisional ballots in Spring Hill
“They said you can leave. They said, ‘We can’t find your name, you’ll have to vote next year.’”
SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WSMV) - When Mackenzie Taylor Fankhauser went to vote Tuesday morning in Williamson County, she was not expecting to be told poll workers couldn’t find her name.
“I knew I was registered, and I wanted to vote,” Taylor Fankhauser said. “They said you can leave. They said, ‘We can’t find your name, you’ll have to vote next year, next time.”
She, her mother and brother told WSMV4 Investigates they witnessed poll workers at the Longview Recreation Center in Spring Hill unable to find other voters' names and did not offer provisional ballots.
When Taylor Fankhauser and her family came to WSMV4 Investigates with their concerns, we encouraged her to contact the Williamson County Election Commission.
Taylor Fankhauser then recorded her calls to the election commission for documentation, expressing what she said she and her family witnessed.
WSMV4 Investigates reached out to Chad Gray, Williamson County Election Commissioner, to see if he had been in contact with poll workers at Longview Recreation Center about what Taylor Fankhauser and her family witnessed.
“Are you concerned that voters were turned away today and not offered provisional ballots?” asked WSMV4 Investigates.
Gray said he would respond via email, but his statement did not directly answer the question, writing instead, “Our office is committed to providing all the voters in Williamson County who are entitled to vote the ability to do so, including a provisional ballot if necessary. Our poll officials are dedicated to making the voting process as easy as possible for everyone, even those whose voter registration may be in question.”
Taylor Fankhauser’s mother told WSMV4 Investigates that workers could not find her name, and she asked for a provisional ballot.
She said it took poll workers fifteen minutes to find her name and she was able to vote.
She said her concern is for the voters who were turned away.
“Something is very wrong. If we don’t educate voters, who is going to educate voters?” she said.
If this happened to you or there’s something you want us to know, please email Jeremy.finley@wsmv.com.
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