Shelby County election officials say they have spent years and millions of dollars strengthening the security of the voting process. They’ve installed bullet-resistant glass, tightened access controls and redesigned their headquarters to better safeguard against bad actors.
The ballots will be accurately counted and your vote is secure, they say. The challenge that remains, they add, is getting voters to the polls.
“Now we’ve just got to encourage people to vote,” said Shelby County Election Commission chairman Mark Luttrell, following a media tour Thursday, March 5, of the commission’s newly renovated headquarters, where officials showcased a series of upgrades designed to improve security, transparency and efficiency ahead of future elections.
The $5.8 million renovation marks the first major overhaul of the O.C. Pleasant Jr. Operations Center since it opened in 1997. Election officials said the project modernizes the building while costing far less than the estimated $20 million to $40 million that a complete rebuild might require.
Among the upgrades: a perimeter fence surrounding the property, expanded surveillance cameras, badge-restricted access beyond public areas, bullet-resistant glass and improved fire suppression systems.
Officials also highlighted operational changes, including a redesigned ballot-processing system that places all ballot handling in a single controlled area.
Luttrell said the changes reflect growing public scrutiny of elections nationwide.
“We’ve seen over the last 15 years probably more attention to the election process than we’ve experienced in our American history,” Luttrell said.
That scrutiny, he said, is why the commission has invested in stronger security and operational safeguards.
“The election process is constantly under scrutiny and we’re being asked to justify the things that we’re doing,” Luttrell said. “We’re trying to work it by the book.”
One example of that layered security lies beyond the public areas of the building.
During the tour, officials described certain secured rooms that require two separate entrance keys, typically held by representatives of different political parties. The safeguard is designed to ensure bipartisan oversight of sensitive election materials.
Luttrell said the commission takes pride in the state’s reputation for election integrity, noting that Tennessee’s election operations rely heavily on bipartisan participation.
“I attribute that in large part to the fact that you have Democrats and Republicans working together at the polling locations, at the headquarters to ensure that the vote is done correctly and with integrity,” he said.
Administrator of Elections Linda Phillips said the public often underestimates the level of detail involved in election administration.
For example, she tracks emergency ballots sent to polling locations by serial number, reconciling them when they return.
“If 100 ballots went out, two got voted, then I got 98 that are blank,” Phillips said.
The process, she said, is time-consuming but essential.
“It takes a lot of time. It’s not cheap, I will tell you that. But I think it’s a very good process,” she said. “People who come to the polls can be assured that their ballots are being counted exactly as they cast them.”
Yet, despite the extensive safeguards, election officials say the larger issue facing Shelby County elections remains voter participation.
Luttrell said the commission plays a role in educating voters about the process — from how voting machines work to where polling locations are located — but he emphasized that candidates themselves often play the biggest role in motivating voters.
“The Election Commission has a responsibility to educate the public but elections rely on candidates to turn the vote out,” Luttrell said. “Because the candidates are the ones that really are going to live or die politically at the ballot box.
“But we need better turnout. I would encourage all of our candidates to do what they can to get people out to vote,” he said.
Phillips noted that the county actually has a high percentage of eligible residents registered to vote.
“If you don’t show up to vote, you have no voice and you’re letting somebody else talk for you. And that’s just wrong,” she said. “I think we’d have vastly different results if we had turnout in the 90 percent range.”
