NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — In just a couple of days, voters will begin returning to the polls to choose who will replace Rep. Mark Green.

But before that happens, new data shows thousands of names have disappeared from the voter rolls.

State records from Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett show that roughly 80,000 Davidson County voters were removed from the voter lists between Dec. 1 and June 1.

In Davidson County, the biggest change came early this year, according to posts on the Davidson County Election Commission Facebook Page. Registration numbers slipped by nearly 70,000 between February and March, from around 529,000 to 460,000.

"It's a spike, and then it levels off, and then it spikes again," Davidson County Administrator of Elections Jeff Roberts explained.

Roberts told News 2 there are several potential reasons for the sudden spike in numbers.

"Three-hundred-plus people dying on a monthly basis in Davidson County," Roberts said. "And we received additional information about people who were registered in Tennessee but died in a different state."

Then there are the people moving out of the county.

"You are looking at thousands per month," Roberts said.

In February, the Davidson County Election Commission tracked 6,731 voters who moved out of the county or were removed in February and 3,985 in March before slowing down to 717 in April.

Letters returned as undeliverable and outdated addresses also play a role, impacting about 1,000 inactive voters.

Roberts explained how the time between the last census in 2020 and the current one also contributed to the data's numbers.

"So traditionally, every ten years, once redistricting is done, we see a blip in the numbers, and it drops down to a normal what we would typically see until that redistricting census happens again," Roberts said.

He added that the redistricting is making Davidson County stand out from other surrounding counties.

"It touched, we think, many more people in Davidson County than, let's say, Knox County or Shelby County," Roberts described. "So we sent out more correspondence, more correspondence came back as not deliverable, and that just kicked off that process for us."

Only the voters who did not vote in either of the last two November elections were purged.
The state does not purge anyone 90 days before an election. They say all 80,000 voters removed this year were actually purged earlier this year, well ahead of the special congressional election next month.

"I want to say just north of 150,000 people will be voting or have an opportunity to vote," Roberts said.

"The voters really need to make sure they are in District 7 before they show up at the poll," Roberts added.

To see if you are still registered in Davidson County, click here.

If you are inactive, update your address or vote in the upcoming election.

If you have been purged, reregister to be able to vote in the next election cycle.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/80000-davidson-county-voters-removed-from-tennessee-registration-lists-ahead-of-special-election/