Spring Hill and Thompson's Station voters heading to the polls for early voting starting Wednesday, Oct. 14, could end up researching the wrong congressional candidates if they use an outdated federal website.
Sites like Congress.gov and House.gov still show Tennessee's old congressional district boundaries, not the redrawn lines voters will cast ballots under this fall. The problem, first reported by the Columbia Daily Herald, has already tripped up voters once: during the August primary, some showed up at polling places expecting candidates who weren't on their ballot.
Tennessee lawmakers voted May 7 to redraw congressional districts. The new 5th Congressional District now stretches across 17 counties, including parts of Williamson and Maury counties. Spring Hill and Thompson's Station fall in that new 5th District, where Republican Charlie Hatcher, a former Tennessee agriculture commissioner, faces Democrat Chaz Molder, the mayor of Columbia.
The old maps technically remain in effect for constituent services until new members of Congress take office in January. But voters need the new boundaries to know which candidates will appear on their ballot.
Only two online tools show the correct new districts:
- The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury's map, accessible through the Division of Elections
- The "find my legislator" tab on capitol.tn.gov, filtered for "future Congress"
Shelly McCormick, a Rutherford County voter who knocked doors for multiple candidates this cycle, told the Columbia Daily Herald she watched a voter walk out of an August primary polling place confused after researching the wrong district online.
"He went and researched Victoria Broderick. … Then he got in there, and the candidates were totally different," McCormick said.
McCormick said many voters she has spoken with still don't know their district changed. "They do not know," she told the Herald.
Early voting runs through Thursday, Oct. 29. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
