1983 audio of Tennessee House debate on the district election bill used as basis for 2023 bill

Audio of 1983 Tennessee House debate on the district election bill by Knoxville black State Representative Pete Drew, former Democrat now Republican. That bill was used as basis for the 2023 district election bill by State Representative Elaine Davis. Black Democrat State Representative Alvin King of Memphis speaking in support of district elections because of one-person-one-vote principle and fairness, particularly to minority voices. King encouraged opposition for amendment to delay the 1983 district election bill.

Ironically, justice ended up being delayed over 40 years because the city of Knoxville apparently disregarded state election law after the passage of the 1983 law by failing to allow a referendum that was required by law.

To listen to another clip about the 1983 TN House debate on district election please see https://youtu.be/ERHnjx6hifw.

For more context, please see the statement below from current 18th District State Representative Elaine Davis after the passage of her 2023 district election bill.

House Bill 817 and Senate Bill 526 were introduced to make sure all Tennesseans have fair elections and registered voters in districts are not disenfranchised by registered voters outside of their district.

In 1983, Knoxville’s former Democrat State Representative Pete Drew introduced House Bill 381 to create a new Tennessee general election law because he felt that some Tennesseans were being disenfranchised in district elections. HB381 became law as part of the Public Acts of 1983, Chapter 404. Today that public act is current general election law in the Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 6-53-110.

The most important part of TCA 6-53-110 is the first subsection ((a)(1)(A)(B)(2)) which was referred to in 1983 as the “brainchild” of Rep. Drew. This establishes the intent that if a candidate is nominated by a district they must be elected by that district. Through multiple amendments, including from legislators other than Rep. Drew, the 1983 bill was changed in the lower subsections which created exemptions to the first subsection.

Forty years later, HB817/SB526 supports the intent of former Rep. Drew by amending the law to delete those exemptions and make it clear that if a candidate is nominated by a district’s registered voters they must be elected by that district’s registered voters.

The Tennessee Constitution, TCA 6-53-110, and local charters all agree that the Tennessee General Assembly has final authority on general election law. HB817/SB526 is general election law because it impacts multiple communities across Tennessee. The 1983 act was also general election law, and it was enacted that year despite some local elected city officials opposing it with their concerns about home rule and charter.

District voters being disenfranchised has been a problem for decades and it is what prompted the 1983 law. In 1983, on the House floor Rep. Drew mentioned he was aware of four examples of candidates who won their districts but lost the election to the voters outside of the district. Since 1983, there have been at least six more examples, including four more from Knoxville in the 1997, 2009, 2017, and 2021 city elections. Two examples from Morristown in their 2021 city election.

HB817/SB526 does not change any Tennessee law regarding partisan elections. Any claim otherwise has no factual basis.