Police Oversight Board Petition Rejected
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- The Hamilton County Election Commission rejected a petition to include a police oversight board on the March 2021 ballot in Chattanooga because of signature issues.
“We went through every petition, checking every signature” said Interim Administrator of Elections Scott Allen.
Allen says the petition review, which included two rounds of counting and auditing, was thorough.
“Unless you voted in the city limits, meaning you pay city of Chattanooga taxes, that signature is not valid” said Allen.
“I don’t understand how so many signatures were tossed out” said activist and Chattanooga City Council Candidate Marie Mott.
A document by the commission explains that the petition was rejected because of invalid signatures, invalid addresses, duplicate signatures, and signatures by non registered voters.
“People who live in Hamilton County think they are entitled to sign a city of Chattanooga petition” said Allen.
Activist and Chattanooga City Council Candidate Marie Mott says the petition never left the city limits.
“They didn’t go canvas in East Ridge or the outskirts of the city. They canvassed right here in the inner city.”
Community Control Now issued a statement saying in part “our coalition will enter a phase where we will verify and validate those names and signatures that were disqualified.”
Leave a Reply