Tennessee
Tennessee won't purge voter rolls of people who disregard a letter asking them to prove citizenship
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee election officials who sent letters last month to 14,375 registered voters asking them for proof of citizenship now say the recipients won’t be kicked off voting rolls if they don’t respond. The state clarified the position in a follow-up letter to all those didn’t respond to the first correspondence. Nearly 3,200 have provided evidence of U.S. citizenship, and more than 300 have requested to be removed from the voter rolls, according to the state elections office. Those on the original mailing list were chosen based on data from the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security, which has information about whether residents were U.S. citizens when they first interacted with that department.
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation informed the state late last month of plans to sue in response to the letters and argued that election officials had to tell voters they wouldn’t lose their voter registration by ignoring the request for proof of citizenship. On Tuesday, the state confirmed officials sent a follow up letter designed to clear up any confusion, and blamed any misunderstandings on outside groups like the ACLU.
“The June 13 letter gave people the option to update their records,” Elections Coordinator Mark Goins wrote. “It did not threaten to remove a person from the voter list if a person does not respond to the June 13 letter. No one will be removed from a voting list for not responding to the June 13 letter.”
Tennessee’s secretary of state office has declined to release the names of people who received the June 13 letters, citing privacy exemptions. However, the office did provide recipients’ zip codes.
More than 1,200 letters were sent to zip code 37013, an area that encompasses Antioch, a south Nashville neighborhood with strong Black and brown populations. No other zip code received as many letters. The second highest area was also in south Nashville, which received 645 of the letters.
Seven went to individuals out of state.
The ACLU has argued that Tennessee’s actions violated the National Voter Registration Act, the Voting Rights Act and the 14th and 15th amendments. The organization alleges election officials created a list that illegally targeted “naturalized citizens in a discriminatory manner.”
The ACLU, representing 11 advocacy organizations, argued the state’s letters amounted to voter intimidation.
The June 13 letter warned voters it is illegal in Tennessee for noncitizens to vote and provided instructions on how to update voter information. It also said illegal voting is a felony and carries penalties of up to two years in prison.
Advocates have said the letters likely reached many immigrants who became naturalized citizens after they got their driver’s license or ID card through the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Tennessee driver’s licenses are renewed every eight years, potentially creating a long gap in time during which the state driver’s license agency may not be updated about a resident’s citizenship status.
The idea of widespread voting by noncitizens has spread through former President and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric. The Republican-controlled U.S. House recently passed a proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration, despite research showing noncitizens illegally registering to vote or and casting ballots in federal elections is rare.
William Helou, an outside attorney representing the Tennessee secretary of state’s office, said the state’s original June 13 letters didn’t threaten to remove anyone from the voter rolls and didn’t violate federal law or constitutional rights. Rather, he called the letters “an appropriate action to fulfill (the election coordinator’s) obligations to ensure the integrity of elections in Tennessee.”
In the follow up letter to voters sent Tuesday, the state said naturalized citizens and other eligible voters are encouraged to vote.
Democrats have opposed the letters seeking proof of citizenship, noting that Tennessee remains among the lowest-ranked states in the U.S. for voter turnout.
The Associated Press sent an email to the ACLU Wednesday asking whether it may still file a legal challenge to the state’s correspondence.
Tennessee
Childhood friends reunite during cancer treatments 50 years after serving in Tennessee National Guard together
A pair of childhood classmates who served together in the Tennessee National Guard reconnected during their cancer treatments nearly 50 years after they fell out of touch.
Billy Taylor, a two-time cancer survivor, wasn’t entirely surprised when he found himself back at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center at TriStar Natchez in Dickson, Tennessee, for yet another round of radiation, WSMV 4 reported.
At the same time, Randy Duke was riding his motorcycle to the same center for daily radiation and chemotherapy treatments as he fights an aggressive throat cancer.
For weeks, neither knew that they were incidentally crossing paths with an old friend.
Duke and Taylor attended school together in White Bluff, Tennessee — just 10 miles outside of Dickson — and were in the same training unit in the Volunteer State’s National Guard.
They lost contact in 1979 when Taylor left the guard to pursue his own business, and figured that was the end of things.
Taylor recognized Duke’s name immediately when he heard a nurse call for him while they were both in the waiting room at the center. Physically, though, Duke looked like a stranger — and vice versa.
“I didn’t know for sure that was him because we changed so much. I wouldn’t have known him if I hadn’t heard his name. I would have never guessed in a million years who he was,” Taylor told WSMV 4.
Taylor didn’t say anything until he got a closer look at Duke in the parking lot three days later.
“Drake, is that you?” Taylor recounted shouting at Duke.
Duke always went by his middle name, Drake, in school because there were so many other students named Randy.
“Oh my goodness, yeah. I can see it now, Billy Ray, and I was glad to see him,” Duke remembered replying while Taylor reintroduced himself.
The pair have been inseparable ever since. They spent hours catching up and reflecting on “all the crazy stuff” they did in the Guard — effectively filling a gaping hole in Duke’s life.
When Duke first started his cancer treatments, he knew it would be difficult, but he told the outlet that the lack of real connection was even harder.
“We used to know everybody in White Bluff. Now, we don’t hardly know anybody. We go to a restaurant and I’m searching for somebody I know up there,” he said.
Now, he and Taylor are leaving for their morning appointments a little earlier so they can carve out extra time to chat in the waiting room.
“We could sit out there and talk. It got our mind off things too. It was just a good feeling to see him again. You don’t see many people that you’ve not seen in 48 years,” Taylor told the outlet.
“As you get older, you’ve got less and less time to meet them. So, it might be a good time to do it,” Duke added.
When Taylor completed his treatments, he rang the center’s chemo bell with Duke by his side. Taylor said he plans to do the same for Duke when he finishes his treatments in June.
Duke, meanwhile, is hoping to secure a part-time job with Taylor when he’s well enough so they can work side-by-side as they did in their youth.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Nashville Soccer Club has been named Tennessee’s 2026 “Professional Team of the Year” for its historic 2025 season. Nashville SC and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (TSHOF) made the announcement Wednesday.
In 2025, Nashville SC became the first professional sports team in Tennessee to win a championship with its Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title. The team also qualified for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.
“This year’s Achievement Award honorees reflect the very best of Tennessee’s rich sports tradition — from legends who’ve inspired generations to rising stars making their mark on the national stage,“ said Harold Graeter, chairman of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors. ”We are proud to honor these individuals and teams whose dedications, excellence, and impact represent what the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Stands for.”
In addition to their Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title and qualification to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, Nashville SC said it set multiple club records in 2025, including:
- The most single season wins in Nashville SC history (22)
- The most single season MLS wins in Nashville SC history (17)
- The longest unbeaten streaks in Nashville SC history (15 all competitions, 12 MLS)
- The most single season home wins in Nashville SC history (15)
- The most single season goals in Nashville SC history (75)
- The most MLS All-Stars in Nashville SC history with three (Hany Mukhtar, Andy Najar, Sam Surridge)
The TSHOF will formally present Nashville SC with its award at its 2026 Banquet at the Omni Nashville Downtown on July 11.
Nashville SC said this honor is the third TSHOF Achievement Award in the club’s history, with the others including principal owner John Ingram’s 2022 ‘Tennessean of the Year’ recognition and Hany Mukhtar’s 2023 ‘Professional Player of the Year’ honors.
Copyright 2026 WSMV. All rights reserved.
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