Feature photo by Hannah Carley
Story by Bailey Brantingham, Noah McLane, Kailee Shores and Alyssa Williams
Many MTSU out-of-state students voted provisionally on Nov. 5 because they were unaware that state law requires voters to present a valid Tennessee photo ID or federal ID, such as a passport, for their ballot to be counted.
More than 20 students who registered in Rutherford County through drives on MTSU’s campus arrived at the polls with home state IDs or various bank statements to show proof of address, according to Central Magnet poll official Stephen Shirley. However, Tennessee law does not accept those documents as valid forms of identification.
“I have to send [the voters that don’t have the required ID] to the DMV… here in town where they can get a free photo ID,” Shirley said. “But it’s a big hassle to do it inside a 48-hour window.”
The voters cast provisional ballots to be counted in the coming days if the voters obtain appropriate identification, such as Tennessee photo ID from the DMV or a form of federal identification. Once those voters retrieve proper documents, they must present it to the Election Commission before the office closes Thursday at 4:30 p.m. If these voters do not turn in the proper documents by the deadline, the ballots will not be counted.
“They’ve got classes, they’ve got work or they’ve got other responsibilities, it makes it very tight, whereas if they were told at the time of registration, ‘Hey, do you have an ID? No? Then in the next 6 weeks go get it before the Election Day,’” Shirley said. “I do not believe they are being told explicitly what [they need] at the time they are doing the voter drives on the campus.”
When registering, students were told that bills and bank statements would be valid forms of identification, Shirley said. Tennessee voter requirements say that in addition to their Tennessee or federal ID, first-time voters must present a bill, bank statement, paycheck or other government document that verifies the voter’s address.
The American Democracy Project, the organization that sponsors most of the voter registration drives on campus, gives every student that registers through them a “What’s Next” pamphlet, Mary Evins, coordinator of ADP at MTSU, said.
“We certainly try diligently to express that if you do not have a Tennessee driver’s license, you have to have a passport to vote,” Evins said.
Many first-time voting students brought in bank statements and bills to confirm addresses, but did not bring an acceptable ID.
An exact number of provisional ballots was unavailable at publication time, but the lockbox at the Central Magnet School polling location was overflowing. “I’m having to call the office because we’ve almost run out. I only have three or four more,” Shirley said.
Students in need of a Tennessee photo ID for voting purposes do not have to wait in line at the drivers’ services center. If the employees know the ID is needed for voting purposes, that person should be given priority.
