State & Local Government

Early Voting Turnout Down 19 Percent Compared to Previous Years
(AP) — Early voting for the Nov. 4 election comes to a close Thursday amid light turnout for races including the U.S. Senate, governor and four proposed constitutional amendments. According to data collected by the Secretary of State’s Office, voting through the first 12 days of early voting this year has been down by nearly 104,000 ballots, or 19 percent, compared with 2010. …

MTSU Releases statewide survey on Amendment 1 Attitudes
The vote on a proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution concerning abortion may be a close call, according to the latest statewide Poll by MTSU, conducted from October 22 to October 26. Amendment 1 would specify that the state constitution says nothing on the rights of a woman to terminate a pregnancy, nullifying past Supreme …

Amendment 3 might Declare Income Tax Unconstitutional
Early Voting for the Nov. 4 mid-term ends on Friday this week. In addition to voting for Governor and legislators at both the state and federal levels, Tennessee voters will see four constitutional amendments on their ballots. Voting Yes on Amendment 3 will add the following paragraph into Article II, Section 28 of the Tennessee …

Yes or No: Amendment 2 restructures judicial elections
With election day just around the corner and early voting already underway across the state, many Tennesseans are fighting to understand the complicated wording of many amendments on this year’s November 4 ballot. Four amendments are up for a vote for Tennesseean citizens. Amendment 2 deals with the way in which judges across the state …

Amendment 1 Could Give Legislators Power to Regulate Abortion
Amendment 1 is one of the potential laws up for vote during the November 4 elections in Tennessee. The amendment handles the way Tennessee legislation handles abortion from a legal standpoint. Voting “Yes on 1” would enter a text into the state’s constitution noting “nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or …

Gay Marriage Slowly Gains Traction in Southern States
LARRY O’DELL, Associated Press MICHAEL BIESECKER, Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Gay and lesbian couples are getting legally married in the South for the first time, crossing a threshold in a conservative region long opposed to the marriages. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Monday to turn away appeals from a handful of states including …