Election Commission votes to remove Democratic State Representative candidate from the ballot

April 24, 2018

Jason Holleman

District 40 state representative candidate Jason Holleman has been removed from the ballot for the Democratic primary election this August.

A special meeting was called April 18 after Holleman’s residency was challenged for not meeting qualification requirements.

Following a unanimous vote by the Commission, it was decided that Holleman would be removed from the ballot after failing to provide sufficient proof of his claimed residency at 536 Rome Road in the Riddleton community. (Listen to audio of the full meeting above)

Holleman, a former Nashville City Councilman, picked up a petition to qualify to run in the Democratic primary on March 29. One of the qualifications for that office is for the candidate to be a resident in the county represented for one year immediately preceding the election that will be held on November 6, 2018.

Yvonne Gibbs, Administrator of Smith County elections, challenged the residency of Mr. Holleman after having proof that he did not meet those requirements to be eligible. Holleman had registered to vote in Smith County on January 22, 2018. Prior to then, Holleman had been registered to vote in Davidson County since 1991.

The Smith County Election Commission tried twice to mail Holleman’s voter registration card, but it failed to be delivered and was returned to sender. Holleman’s driver license’s address had also been changed in March 2018.

After the meeting was called to order, Yvonne Gibbs presented proof. Following that, Holleman presented his proof and then took questions via conference call from Mark Goins, Coordinator of Elections for the State of Tennessee.

Carol Brown Andrews, candidate for State Executive Committeewoman, and John Oliver, chairman of Trousdale County Election Commission, spoke on Holleman’s behalf to help prove his residency.

Andrews tweeted after the meeting:

Smith County Election Commission displayed an embarrassing lack of knowledge about everything, including online billing/banking, when they banned @jasonholleman from ballot for #TN40. Plus, they called me, neighbor forever, a liar. #TN40
— Carol Brown Andrews (@CarolBAndrews) April 19, 2018

With Holleman being removed, this now leaves no Democrat on the ballot for either the primary or general election. The next State Representative will be decided in the August 2, 2018, Republican primary.

Either candidate, Chad Williams or Terri Lynn Weaver will be unopposed in the November 6 general election.

Currently, the decision for Jason Holleman to appeal the commission’s decision to chancery court is still being debated. At the moment, Holleman has been removed from the ballot unless the decision is appealed in chancery court.

The Smith County Election Commission consists of: