- Jun 30, 2024
On June 13, 2024, Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins sent 14,375 letters naturalized citizens registered to vote. The letter threatened criminal prosecution for illegal voting, remained silent on whether a voter’s registration would be purged, and demanded that recipients verify their U.S. citizenship, despite the fact that naturalized citizens already affirm their citizenship & eligibility to vote when they register.
If you receive one of the letters from the coordinator of elections:
If you are a U.S. citizen, do not respond to the letter. Do not send in proof. Your voter registration will not be purged before the election. Vote as normal.
If you are not a U.S. citizen and were somehow registered to vote, contact your local county election commission and cancel your registration. Do not send in anything to Goins in response to the letter.
You can check your voter registration status on our voter information page.
Voters can also call the voter protection hotline operated by the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights with any questions or concerns they may have regarding the voting process. Those affected can call or text the 866-Our-Vote hotline (866-687-8683) to be connected with a live, trained legal volunteer to provide an overview of their rights as prescribed by TN law, how they can move forward to navigate this process, as well as provide guidance or next steps on any part of the voting process. The hotline will work closely with Organize Tennessee and Civic Tennessee to connect TN voters who call in to local and state based resources like us if the issue they reported requires local follow-up by partners on the ground.
If someone contacts you experiencing problems at the polls, please have them record the names of any individuals involved, the polling precinct, and the time and location, and directly reach out to the election protection hotline at 866-687-8683, or to ACLU-TN at intake@aclu-tn.org to discuss the situation.
