Redistricting could fuel higher turnout, election official says [View all]
The Shelby County Election Commission will have extra equipment on hand for the Aug. 6 election in anticipation of a higher than expected voter turnout for the ballot that features the county general and state and federal primary elections.
“Voters vote when they think their vote makes a difference or they’re angry or there’s an issue that’s important to them,” Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips said on the WKNO-TV program “Behind The Headlines” when asked about the effect new district lines splitting Shelby County among three Congressional districts could have on turnout.
“I think these are some issues that are important to them,” she said. “I’m seeing a lot of people calling me not about running voter-registration drives because we really have a very high percentage of our age-eligible voters registered, but we don’t have them come out and vote as well.”
The new congressional district lines were drawn in a May special session of the Legislature by the Republican super-majorities specifically to flip the predominantly Memphis 9th District seat — the only one of the nine U.S. House seats in the Tennessee delegation held by a Democrat.
https://dailymemphian.com/article/64178/behind-the-headlines-shelby-county-redistricting-may-increase-election-turnout
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