Metro Councilman calls for removal of election worker after constituent complaint

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro Councilman Jordan Huffman is calling for the removal of what he calls a "rogue Election Official."

According to an open letter posted to social media, the Metro District 14 councilman detailed experienced multiple negative interactions with a poll worker both during the Aug. 1 primary election and the Nov. 5 general election. He added a constituent reached out to him about an issue with the same worker on Election Day, Nov. 5.

According to Huffman, the worker approached him and another candidate standing outside the required 100-foot electioneering boundary at the Hermitage Community Center polling location threatening to him the pair arrested for where they were standing on Aug. 1.

Huffman said the "threat and tone used was unbecoming of the standard set by other poll workers" in the county.

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The same worker then reportedly approached Huffman again on Nov. 5 while the councilman was in line to vote with his wife and son. Huffman said the worker "asked in a condescending/threatening tone if I remembered him," referring to the Aug. 1 incident.

Huffman's letter then detailed a constituent complaint about the same worker. According to Huffman, the constituent used a state-issued temporary ID card in order to vote, but the worker in question instructed other election staff not to accept that temporary ID. The temporary ID was issued by the Tennessee Secretary of State's Office in order for the constituent to vote, according to Huffman.

The constituent told Huffman she was concerned the issue was due to her race. Reportedly, the poll worker had the constituent move to a separate line used to "verify" her ID, and the constituent indicated "only minorities were being placed in this separate line."

According to Huffman, when the constituent reached the beginning of the line, a separate poll worker stated, "I don't know why he sent you to this line. This ID is acceptable."

Huffman said in his letter the "concerning" thing about this one poll worker's behavior was how he acted "as if he is untouchable in his position."

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"My fear is that countless voters have been intimidated and therefore had their rights as voters compromised," he said in the letter. "We must ensure that the integrity of our elections are protected. This is a clear case of a poll worker thinking that his opinion supersedes election laws."

Huffman called for the worker's removal due to "a clear pattern of misusing his authority."

"Interfering with someone's ability to vote should never be tolerated in Nashville," Huffman said in his post.

The concerning thing to Huffman was how he felt most people may not complain because "they think that it's a part of the process," and they would go along with orders from election officials abusing their authority.

"I've got a huge issue with that, because the election process should be as seamless and easy as possible," he said. "If you have a poll worker who is abusing their power to assert authority instead of enforcing the actual election laws, then we've got a huge issue."

Davidson County Elections Administrator Jeff Roberts told News 2 the election commission takes all complaints seriously and will investigate them.

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"We take every complaint seriously and investigate all complaints," he said. "If action is warranted, we will take it."

Huffman said he also spoke with Roberts, praising his swift response.

"His quick reply showed me how seriously he's taking this," he told News 2.

Huffman said he called Roberts after the constituent reported her issue at her polling precinct on Tuesday, and Roberts dispatched another poll worker to the location "just to ensure that there was no funny business going on."

"I really appreciate him jumping to action and for his quick response to my letter," Huffman added.