Tennessee Dems Tap Clay Capp to Lead Statewide Voter Protection Program

The Tennessee Democratic Party has launched a statewide voter protection program to “ensure eligible Tennessee voters can fully participate in the 2026 General Election on November 3.”

The initiative will be led by District 6 Metro Councilmember Clay Capp, who now serves as the TNDP's statewide director of voter protection. The new role comes as the U.S. Department of Justice announces election monitoring of some midterm election sites across the country, with critics of the Trump administration's DOJ fearing threats to valid voters under the guise of election integrity.

“Our goal is simple: wherever a Tennessean is casting a vote, our assistance will be available to help,” Capp says in a statement.

The program aims to “build voter protection infrastructure across all 95 counties” — from training volunteers, providing polling and voter information and documenting potential issues, to providing a “statewide escalation process for election-related concerns.”

Congressional Democrats have also established a task force ahead of the midterm elections, in preparation for potential claims by President Donald Trump that elections could be interfered with in an attempt to hold Republican power in Congress.

“Trump and this Republican supermajority will lie, cheat, and steal to keep and expand their power — but this first step, not just in our largest cities, builds statewide infrastructure that lifts all Tennesseans now and for years to come,” says TNDP Chair Rachel Campbell.

Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced the statewide initiative at the Aug. 29 TNDP Three Star Dinner, where he donated $50,000 to the program through his Ready PAC, with a pledge to donate a total of $100,000.

“So between now and November, we have a lot of work to do. We have to do some education. We have to make sure every eligible voter can cast a ballot and have that ballot counted,” O’Connell said on Aug. 29.

“That is how we win," he continued. "I want to invest in Tennesseans understanding how, when and where to vote and why. With our state and local partners, we're going to cut through the barriers and help voters understand their rights and navigate any obstacle placed in their way — and we do expect obstacles this November."

“We'll make sure that when rights are threatened, someone is ready to stand with them, because voter protection starts long before Election Day. ... It's about more than one campaign, one candidate, one election. It is about building the infrastructure Democrats need to compete everywhere and protect every vote. We're not going to surrender a single community because someone has labeled it too ‘red.’ We're not going to allow unfair maps to convince us that organizing is pointless, and we're not going to let the people in power in Tennessee believe that change is impossible. Change begins when we show up.”

This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.