Stella Parton Reports Ballot Selection Problem in Tennessee

Stella Parton said her early-voting ballot in Tennessee repeatedly selected Republican Marsha Blackburn instead of her intended choice, prompting her to correct it and call over a poll worker. Election officials said similar complaints were rare and urged voters to report problems before casting their ballots. Parton described the experience in Facebook posts about voting at Hermitage Library near Nashville. She said the screen continued defaulting to Blackburn and that she went back three times to correct her selection. In a later post, she said she called a poll worker after the problem persisted on her third attempt and advised voters to check their ballots before printing and casting them. Parton’s account does not establish why the selections appeared as they did. Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins said voting systems have safeguards, including a screen where voters can review and correct their choices before casting a ballot. Election officials also advised voters who believe something is wrong to alert poll workers so the issue can be addressed. The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office told WSMV it had received one similar complaint among approximately...