Mark me down as a strong supporter of this movement, advocating the appointment of John Harvey to Shelby County’s Election Commission. My thanks to Tom Guleff for making a push to get this idea in front of people.

Here’s some background from an e-mail I sent out in late August, after having studied the situation:

On April 2, 2007, the Tennessee State Election Commission will appoint new members to the Shelby County Election Commission for a two-year term.

John Harvey’s work is what led to the revelations that dead people (i.e. corrupt poll workers) and out-of-town illegal voters were influencing our elections in Shelby County, and he has continued exposing flaws in the voter database and election process with his influential website, votinginmemphis.com.

If we encourage our elected leaders to support Harvey, they may be able to influence the State Commission’s nominations next Spring.

I know that some people are sour to Harvey because of his criticism of Sheriff Mark Luttrell during the Republican primary. I would only remind them that those criticisms were made during a campaign, and that is not a good reason to keep him from serving in this capacity — an area where his particular skills and experience are so greatly needed. Adding Harvey to the commission is not something to do as a favor to him, but as a boost to all the citizens of the county, a pledge that we care about the integrity of our election system and the importance of our right to vote.

I know that Harvey is willing to serve in this capacity, and that several people around the county are eager to see that happen. I urge any elected official within reach of this blog to give the idea serious consideration between now and April.

UPDATE: I’m now told that, in each county, each party’s legislative delegation selects the nominees to the county’s Election Commission, so perhaps I misunderstood the selection process as explained here: “The State Election Commission is responsible for appointing five county election commissioners for every county in the state.”