The 9:01: Jennifer Lawrence criticizes Memphis Council for 'dishonest' referenda

Good morning from Memphis, where late-registering early voters are in for a headache at polls and the Grizzlies' Chandler Parsons is really, really sorry. But first...

It's not every day that Jennifer Lawrence, the popular actress who won an Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook" in 2012, slams Memphis City Council members.

But that's what happened in a video released today in which she urges voters to defeat the three referenda on the bottom of Memphis voters' Nov. 6 ballots. 

"Memphis, you're about to get blindsided by your own government," says Lawrence, a board member of RepresentUs, a national anti-corruption advocacy group. "Surprised? You shouldn't be. Ten years ago, voters approved laws that give the people more power over elections, hold politicians accountable, and create term limits. Politicians are sneakily trying to reverse those laws, so they put dishonest questions at the bottom of Memphis ballots. We should protect our elections by saying 'no' to all the questions. Tell the politicians they work for us."

The first referendum on the ballot would allow council members to seek a third four-year term (they're limited to two, currently). The second would repeal a 2008 charter amendment allowing instant runoff voting (IRV) in the council's single-member district races — a voting method that allows voters to rank their first, second and third choices, eliminating the need for a runoff election. The final referendum would also eliminate runoffs, but by making elections winner-take-all affairs, like in the mayor's race.

If voters keep instant-runoff voting but also approve the winner-take-all method, the question could go to the courts.

From the Save IRV Memphis press release this morning:

“It’s inspiring to see Jennifer Lawrence using her platform to fix our broken political system. Politicians helping themselves instead of the voters is all too common in Memphis and around the country,”  said former City Council Chair Myron Lowery, a board member of Save IRV Memphis, the local grassroots group urging voters to vote “NO” on all ballot questions. 

I'm told that Save IRV hopes to release a second video featuring a different celebrity in upcoming weeks, so stay tuned.

Interestingly, blogger Joe Saino, who opposes IRV, quotes Memphis City Council member/Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford as saying Shelby County would have to pay "up to $6.3 million for new machines" if instant runoffs are used. But that's stretching the truth, going off of what Meyers told me.

Shelby County Election Commission chairman Robert Meyers says he'd never heard that amount, but confirmed that the commission is planning to buy machines soon. However, he said that was due to the vendor announcing it will cease maintenance on current machines in the next few years. The commission is hoping to buy machines with a function that works with instant runoffs, saving staff from counting ballots by hand, but new machines aren't necessary for instant runoffs, he said.

Elections Administrator Linda Phillips has said the switch to IRV won't require new equipment and will save the money that would have been spent on a runoff election.

Early voters could face extra hassle

A large number of invalid voter registration applications are allegedly gumming up the works over at the Shelby County Election Commission, our Katherine Burgess reports.

However, no one who registered by the deadline will be turned away at the polls, according to Elections Administrator Linda Phillips, as quoted by Katherine:

If a person’s name is not registered to vote, a poll worker will then call a helpline, giving the election commission a chance to fill out missing information from that person’s application and process it immediately. If that doesn’t work, people may fill out provisional ballots.

Still, the large number of rejected voter registration applications is raising questions for many people, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis, as mentioned in yesterday's 9:01 column. The Tennessee Black Voters Project, which the commission said submitted the majority of the incomplete applications, has filed a lawsuit against the commission. The group released a statement about its concerns:

"The SCEC’s statement that over half of voter registration forms received are invalid and its refusal to timely release public records raises concerns about whether it is wrongly invalidating thousands of voter registration forms TNBVP submitted during a historic statewide drive," the project said in a release. "There are also concerns about whether affected Tennesseans are being notified of their right to 'cure'—or correct—deficient forms by or on Election Day so they can still vote a regular ballot in the upcoming election."

But the Election Commission has concerns of its own:

In some instances, it appears that people have changed addresses or registered for others, said Robert Meyers, chairman of the commission. That information has been turned over to the Shelby County District Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“We don’t know if there’s anything nefarious, but there’s enough to create a concern,” Meyers said.

The Election Commission, which came under fire from Democrats earlier this year for changes to early voting locations, could easily grow defensive at the new concerns. But it shouldn't. Voting is a sacred right and the commission should take the concerns about voter disenfranchisement seriously and thoroughly debunk them, if they're unwarranted.

Contrite Parsons gives away 1,000 tickets

Memphis Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons has an image problem. In September, a humbled Parsons penned an apology of sorts, saying he'd grown bitter and defensive after multiple injuries and had "lost touch" with what it was like to be a basketball fan.

Well, now he's making a bid to get the fans back on his side:

Cynics will see that as an attempt to short-circuit more boos, but Parsons seems like he's genuinely maturing. Giving away 1,000 tickets isn't a bad olive branch, but the affection of Grizzlies fans isn't so cheaply bought. Win a few games, then we'll talk.

Additional sports-related reading: The Memphis Express football team announced its schedule yesterday — a lineup that includes a team coached by former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze.

Mini Op-Ed: Memphis homeless need homes

As a follow-up to my column yesterday about whether homeless shelters like the Memphis Union Mission should charge overnight fees, here's a mini guest op-ed from Katie Raines, the development manager at Just City. Raines previously worked for Community Alliance for the Homeless and OrgCode Consulting.

"I applaud the Memphis Union Mission’s effort to treat their guests with dignity in building a new, beautiful facility. I’m particularly appreciative that the bathrooms will have a greater degree of privacy to better suit the needs of people who aren’t comfortable in group settings. However, I’m afraid our community is adding shelter beds, which are intended for temporary use, when we should be adding permanent housing units. Until someone is in a place of his own without a looming exit date, that person remains 'homeless,' whether it’s in emergency shelter, transitional housing, or outdoors exposed to the elements.

"In addition to Memphis Union Mission’s expansion, Calvary Rescue Mission opened a new facility just four months ago. Between these two providers’ expansions, there will be an increase of 336 beds for homeless men.

"As Mayor Strickland’s weekly email pointed out last week, homelessness has been on the decline in Memphis since 2012. The success this community has seen is due to a focus on Housing First — a philosophy that prioritizes housing without preconditions. Perhaps the biggest contributing factor was our participation in the 100,000 Homes Campaign, a nationwide effort to house the most vulnerable people experiencing chronic homelessness, which led to a 39 percent decrease in chronic homelessness in Memphis between 2012 and 2014. Additionally, family homelessness decreased by 20 percent between 2013 and 2014 when MIFA willingly repurposed its transitional housing by donating it to another nonprofit to be used as permanent supportive housing.

"Our community-wide progress has tapered since 2015, however. The addition of permanent housing dedicated to people exiting homelessness has been minimal and the efforts to house the most vulnerable unsheltered population have decreased due to a lack of funding and the loss of beloved community street-outreach workers. It’s my hope that Memphis can continue to retool our existing resources to more efficiently end homelessness through best practices and ensure that it’s a rare, brief, and non-recurring experience for anyone who may find themselves in a housing crisis."

Interested in writing a Mini Op-Ed? Email The 9:01's Ryan Poe.

Recommended reading

• BREAKING: A Shelby County Sheriff's Office deputy was injured this morning in an alleged shootout with a suspect, who was killed.
• Transit funding update: Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland heads to D.C. to ask for more federal funds for public transit, Jamie Munks reports. The city and county are hoping to ramp up funding of the Memphis Area Transit Authority.
• 'Everything is changing': Our Phillip Jackson looks at policing trends on releasing video of officer-involved shootings — and at how Memphis is in danger of falling behind the curve.

The Fadeout

R&B diva Anita Baker is retiring — but not before she comes to The Orpheum Theatre on Nov. 21, part of her farewell tour (tickets on-sale at 10 a.m. Friday). One of her best:

Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter at @ryanpoe.