New statewide initiative aims to increase voter turnout

JACKSON, Tenn. — A new statewide initiative kicks off its efforts of voter registration and election information.

“We are very, very intent on making sure that our program is implemented not only in our larger cities in Tennessee but also in more rural cities and rural counties,” said Patrick McAnally, director of community engagement of Vote Tennessee.

The idea for Vote Tennessee, an initiative through Leadership Tennessee, originally started in 2017 as Project Register by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper and Republican Sen. Steve Dickerson.

“Back when the program kicked off, we were hovering around 40th in the nation for voter registration,” McAnally said. “They looked at the numbers after the 2016 election and said we can do better.”

He also said the program expanded beyond its beginnings.

“We’ve been mapping out different ways of how we’re going to access organizations with high levels of memberships,” McAnally said.

Vote Tennessee partners with businesses, universities and any large organizations. The goal is to get every eligible Tennessee voter registered and out to the polls.

Some West Tennessee leaders and organizations will partner with Leadership Tennessee and bring the initiative to the region.

“It’s essentially really important for rural citizens in our communities to also have a vote, whether that’s at the state or the federal level, and really at the local level,” Weakley County Mayor Jake Bynum said.

“I think people just assume that ‘my vote doesn’t count,’ so we have to change the culture,” said Ryan Porter, chief operating officer and general counsel with the Jackson Chamber.

Visit Leadership Tennessee’s website for more information about Vote Tennessee.