Singer Stella Parton says she had to correct her ballot three times after it kept defaulting to Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn while she voted early last week at the Hermitage Library in Davidson County.
Parton, 77, a vocal Democrat and the younger sister of the late Dolly Parton, described the incident in a Wednesday Facebook post. “In Tennessee last week at the Hermitage Library where I voted, I had to go back three times and correct my vote because it kept defaulting to Marsha Blackburn,” she wrote. “I would never vote for her for anything.”
She urged other voters to check their ballots carefully and not rush through the process because of long lines. “I’m putting this out here because when we vote, we take it seriously but we try not to hold up the long lines. Do it anyway. Don’t let them rig this election,” she wrote.
In the same post, Parton accused Elon Musk and “Russian bots” of trying to influence the midterm elections, writing, “To think people like Elon Musk and Russian bots may be upended another election makes my skin crawl. May they all die and worms eat them.” In a follow-up post, she said, “I’m more frightened and frustrated than angry,” adding, “This is so sad and heartbreaking but to think this is what it’s come to makes me angry for every good and innocent person in this country.”
The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office told WSMV that, of roughly 400,000 ballots cast so far in the November midterms statewide, it has received only one complaint matching Parton’s description.
State officials said Tennessee’s voting machines give voters multiple chances to catch and fix errors before a ballot is finalized, including an initial selection screen, a final review screen, and a paper ballot or paper record generated by the system.
“Tennessee’s voting systems are designed with multiple safeguards to help ensure that ballots are recorded consistent with voter intent,” Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins told the Tennessean.
The Secretary of State’s Office said any voter who believes they’ve encountered a problem should alert a poll official immediately, before casting the ballot, so the issue can be addressed on the spot.
