Memphis poll worker is fired for turning away voters wearing 'Black Lives Matter' and 'I Can't Breathe' shirts
- The worker at the Dave Wells Community Center in North Memphis was fired on the spot Friday after he 'didn't pay attention' to the rules
- The man thought the phrases were tied to the Democratic Party
- Only a few voters were turned away, but the number is unknown
- Tennessee law bars people at election sites from displaying messages that specifically mention a political candidate, party, or position on a question
A worker at a Memphis poll site was fired Friday for wrongly turning away multiple voters for wearing shirts bearing the phrases 'Black Lives Matter' and 'I Can't Breathe.'
The poll worker at the Dave Wells Community Center in North Memphis, whose name has not been disclosed, was told the rules more than once, an official said.
'He was given very clear instructions. He was given clear instructions the next day, and again didn't pay attention to them. So he was terminated,' Shelby County Election Administrator Linda Phillips told WREG.
A witness at the community center called in a complaint to officials.
A poll worker at the Dave Wells Community Center in Memphis was fired for wrongly turning away voters after a witness complained to officials
Only a few voters were turned away, but the exact number is unknown, said Suzanne Thompson, spokesperson for the county election commission.
Tennessee law bars voters and campaigners from coming within 100 feet of poll sites if they're displaying messages that specifically mention a political candidate, party, or position on a question.
Share this article
Shelby County Election Administrator Linda Phillips (pictured) said the fired poll worker was given instructions across different days but 'didn't pay attention' to them
The worker thought the phrase 'Black Lives Matter' was associated with the Democratic Party, said Thompson.
'That was pretty bad,' she told the AP. 'They were not supposed to be turned away.'
Thompson said the poll worker asked a few people to turn their shirts inside out, but they refused to comply and left the site.
Early voting started Wednesday at polling locations across Tennessee, including 26 sites in Shelby County. The county staffs an equal number of Republican and Democratic poll workers at each site.
Turnout in Shelby County, the home of Memphis, is up dramatically compared to early voting figures from the same point in 2016.
Voters queued in long lines October 14 in Memphis, the first day of early voting
Over 132,000 voted during the first five days of voting this year in the county, according to the spokesperson. Over the course of the last presidential election Shelby County tallied 341,731 votes.
In 2016 Hillary Clinton won 61.3 percent of the votes for president in Shelby County, compared to Donald Trump's 34.4 percent.
Most watched News videos
- Russian soldiers catch 'Ukrainian spy' on motorbike near airbase
- MMA fighter catches gator on Florida street with his bare hands
- Rayner says to 'stop obsessing over my house' during PMQs
- Moment escaped Household Cavalry horses rampage through London
- New AI-based Putin biopic shows the president soiling his nappy
- Brazen thief raids Greggs and walks out of store with sandwiches
- Shocking moment woman is abducted by man in Oregon
- Sir Jeffrey Donaldson arrives at court over sexual offence charges
- Prison Break fail! Moment prisoners escape prison and are arrested
- Ammanford school 'stabbing': Police and ambulance on scene
- Helicopters collide in Malaysia in shocking scenes killing ten
- Vacay gone astray! Shocking moment cruise ship crashes into port
