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Bill Banning Cameras in Polls Withdrawn

A bill seeking to ban cameras in polling places has died for the year amid concerns that voters wouldn't be able to document problems.

Republican Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver withdrew the bill Tuesday after lengthy debate spanning several meetings of the House State Government Committee. 

State Election Coordinator Mark Goins suggested at an earlier meeting that the bill would prevent people from presenting photographs of their votes for pay. He later acknowledged he had no evidence of such schemes occurring in Tennessee. 

Opponents argue voters could use cellphone cameras to document mistakes by poll workers or on electronic voting machines. Others say they didn't want to ban the practice of photographing their children accompanying them to the voting booth. 

The Senate passed its version 27-0 last month.

Whitney grew up listening to Car Talk to and from her family’s beach vacation each year, but it wasn’t until a friend introduced her to This American Life that radio really grabbed her attention. She is a recent graduate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where she studied journalism. When she’s not at WKMS, you can find her working on her backyard compost pile and garden, getting lost on her bicycle or crocheting one massive blanket.
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