Friday, May 8, 2009
Politics / Woods Brian Kelsey Foiled Again
Posted by Jeff Woods on Fri, May 8, 2009 at 2:41 PM
Comments (3)
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So, the AG thinks it would satisfy the Constitution if the members of the legislature were appointed by the governor and simply faced a retention election every two years (or four for Senators).
Yeah... that makes sense.
About as much sense as arguing that retention elections for judges satisfy the TN Constitution.
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These AG opinions have baffeled me for yrs. Not just this AG but most of them. First of all: we are the only state in the union that picks our AG's in this manner, which seems so odd to me. Secondly, their opinions appear to change with the political mood or with the position of the party asking for the opinion. It is my humble opinion that if any change should take place to the TN Constitution the first should be to elect the AG with some real power for this state. Why both Dems & Repbls. officials oppose the citizens voting on anything in this state only shows what they really think of our judgement vs theirs.
WOODS: You are wrong again: Read it for yourself
Article 1 Section 5. The elections shall be free and equal, and the right of suffrage, as hereinafter declared, shall never be denied to any person entitled thereto, except upon a conviction by a jury of some infamous crime, previously ascertained and declared by law, and judgment thereon by court of competent jurisdiction.
Article 11 Section 16. The declaration of rights hereto prefixed (see above declaration of rights paragraph) is declared to be a part of the Constitution of the state, and shall never be violated on any pretense whatever. And to guard against transgression of the high powers we have delegated, we declare that everything in the bill of rights contained, is excepted out of the general powers of the government, and shall forever remain inviolate.
ARTICLE IV. Elections.Section 1. Every person, being eighteen years of age, being a citizen of the United States, being a resident of the state for a period of time as prescribed by the General Assembly, and being duly registered in the county of residence for a period of time prior to the day of any election as prescribed by the General Assembly, shall be entitled to vote in all federal, state, and local elections held in the county or district in which such person resides. All such requirements shall be equal and uniform across the state, and there shall be no other qualification attached to the right of suffrage.
The General Assembly shall have power to enact laws requiring voters to vote in the election precincts in which they may reside, and laws to secure the freedom of elections and the purity of the ballot box.
