MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - There are more problems at Shelby County early voting polling locations and for many it comes as no surprise.
From the confusion over the suburban school district vote to the redistricting debacle, complaints were bound to arise as voters stepped into the booths.
One Memphian refused to cast his ballot because he claimed the election commission's records were wrong. It turns out he was right.
The problem at the polls means you could end up with the wrong ballot. Lawmakers approved an overhaul of the district lines months ago and it's throwing some voters for a loop.
“We had to make a lot of changes in a very short window of time, it looks like at least up to this point, the problems have been really very few,” said Shelby County Election Commission Chairman Robert Meyers.
But David Holt says even one screw up is too many. He tried to cast his ballot Tuesday for State Representative Mike Kernel.
“When my wife and I both go to vote and when we get to that race it says District 98. It doesn't even have Mike Kernel as an option, but I know full well I am in District 93,” Holt said.
Poll workers wouldn't budge on correcting the ballot, even when he showed them proof.
“So I leave and go get the district map and I flip a couple of pages and I'm smack dab in the middle of the district,” Holt said.
He took his fight to the election commission who recognized the error and corrected it.
“What concerns me is not so much my vote, because I got it fixed, what concerns me is how many people are coming here and their districts are wrong. They're casting votes that are incorrect.”
Holt claims other voters are having the same problem.
Meyers says he believes the numbers affected are few, but he's doing everything he can to make sure it doesn't happen again.
“We've engaged in a process to double check that area. There were lots of changes made as a result of redistricting so I don't want to guarantee that there's nothing else that could go wrong, in fact I think it's really why people should assist us,” Meyers said.
If you are presented with the wrong ballot when you vote, take the time to straighten it out with the election commission. If you're unsure about what district you're in and what races you're supposed to vote for,
click here or visit
http://www.capitol.tn.gov/districtmaps/redist.html.
