Mr. Farley goes to Washington: Rutherford election administrator opposes federal oversight

Local officials should have oversight of elections rather than federal oversight, a Rutherford County election official told U.S. senators recently.

Alan Farley, Rutherford County Administrator of elections, testified in November during a Congressional hearing about ongoing threats to election administration before the U.S. Senate Rules & Administration Committee in Washington, D.C.

“If Congress wants to help protect our democracy, they would be better served to invest in cyber-security measures and IT (information technology) infrastructure at the state and local level,” said Farley for the Republican-majority Rutherford County Election Commission.

“There are many counties in the state of Tennessee that do not have their own IT departments," Farley told the Senate committee members. "Local election administrators know their communities best and how best to resolve challenges. Adding the federal bureaucracy to elections hurts instead of helping it.”

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Rutherford County Democratic Election Commission member Judy Whitehill agreed with Farley that local elections should be secured at the local level.

"Many of the counties in our state are very small rural counties, and don't have the tax base to have the technology support they might need," Whitehill said. "While this is a local issue, these counites often need financial assistance from the state."

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Farley invited by two senators to speak at hearing

Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, the chairwoman for the rules committee, called the hearing to discuss the ongoing threats to election administration in the U.S. The objective of the hearing was to address issues that arose from the 2020 and 2022 elections, including threats to election workers.

It was stated that many election officials are leaving the profession due to threats and violence after those elections, according to a press release from Rutherford County spokeswoman Lisa Kaye.

Farley presented the viewpoint from the local level as an expert witness along with testimonies from secretaries of state from Pennsylvania and Arizona, the press release said.

Farley spoke about the issue at the request of Republican U.S. Sens Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Deb Fischer of Nebraska.

“It was a privilege to represent not only Rutherford County and the state of Tennessee but all local election jurisdictions throughout the country," Farley said in the press release.

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Record voter turnout expected for presidential election

Farley during a recent interview in his office said he expects a record voter turnout for this year's presidential election in fast-growing Rutherford.

The county in 2016 had a then record of more than 109,000 votes for the presidential election, and the turnout count grew to another record in the 2020 presidential election with about 144,000 votes.

"I think we could vote in access of 162,000 this November," Farley said.

Rutherford at this time has 210,153 registered voters, and Farley expects the count to climb by the Nov. 5 presidential election.

"It's national politics," Farley said.

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Low voter turnout expected for local elections

The local election commission will have about 300 citizens who reside in Rutherford serving as poll officials for the presidential election to help voters move through the process as quickly as possible, Farley said.

"We're very blessed," Farley said. "We're going to be prepared."

Farley wishes local government elections drove turnout because voters are choosing leaders who make decisions on using tax dollars to fund roads, schools, solid waste services, jail services, law enforcement and other public services.

"We should have far greater turnout in local elections because local government impacts our citizens on a daily basis," Farley said. "But it's national issues that motivates our voters, and they turn out during national elections."

Whitehill, one of the election commissioners overseeing Farley, agreed that voters should care about electing local candidates for school board, city council, county commission and other offices.

"Those are the individuals who determine your tax base and other important elements of our cities and our county," said Whitehill, who's one of two Democrats serving on a Rutherford County Election Commission with three Republicans.

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March 5 includes Smyrna referendum

Voters on Nov. 5 also will elect local candidates for offices in Smyrna, La Vergne and Eagleville.

Farley expects turnout for the March 5 primary to be similar as past presidential primaries. The March 5 primary is also for local school board seats for Rutherford and Murfreesboro, two county offices for property assessor and highway superintendent.

Primary winners and independents will advance to the Aug. 1 election that includes primaries for state and federal offices.

The March 5 primary date also includes a referendum for voters who live within Smyrna's boundary on whether the town should eliminate General Sessions Court and transfer criminal cases to General Sessions Courts at the Rutherford County Judicial Center in downtown Murfreesboro.

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Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow his tweets on the X social media platform @ScottBroden. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for digital subscription.

Election dates

• March 5: primary for presidential candidates; delegates for nominees to serve at the Republican National Convention; school board seats for Rutherford and Murfreesboro; county offices for highway superintendent and property assessor; and referendum for voters who live within Smyrna's boundaries on whether the town should eliminate General Sessions Court and transfer criminal cases to General Sessions Courts at the Rutherford County Judicial Center in downtown Murfreesboro

• Aug. 1: Elections for Murfreesboro and Rutherford County offices, and primaries for federal and state legislative offices

• Nov. 5: presidential election that's also for federal and state legislative offices, as well as offices in Smyrna, La Vergne and Eagleville

Source: Rutherford County Election Commission

How to watch Alan Farley give testimony in Washington

Link to view Alan Farley testimony before U.S. Senate Committee at about 51:30 timestamp: https://www.rules.senate.gov/hearings/ongoing-threats-to-election-administration

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Rutherford election administrator goes to D.C. to oppose federal oversight