TN Secretary of State Tre Hargett Talks About How Voting Works in the State of TN

Backroads and Backstories with Paul Bailey

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Tennessee Secretary of State, Tre Hargett, grew up in Ripley, TN.
• He served 10 years in the House of Representatives, and was first elected in 1996, then re-elected four more times.
• “Republicans being in control feels like it has made a big difference in how our state has been governed.” -Sec. Hargett
• Hargett is running for reelection in January.
• Hargett’s father was the Adjutant General of the Tennessee National Guard.
• “I have such respect for the men and women in our families who do serve the National Guard and all branches of our government.” -Sec. Hargett
• Hargett views politics and government as a vehicle to make a positive impact on the lives of others.
• Part of Hargett’s job is to work with all 95 county Election Commissions to try and make sure that Tennessee runs elections that meet the highest test of integrity.
• There are two types of mail-in ballots. There is an absentee by mail ballot, in which case, a voter makes a proactive decision. And there is a way to do that by email, fax, or by traditional mail.
• Voter list maintenance is a constant effort on behalf of election officials around the state.
• Two counties in the state of Tennessee: Hamilton County and Williamson County have Dominion Voting Systems.
• Paper ballot counties have to have some type of audit done in TN.
• Mark Goins said his team and all 95 county election commissions around the state did a great job of upholding the integrity of Tennessee's elections.
• Hargett serves on about 15 different boards and commissions, but also the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
• “We are a very well-managed state due to good leadership at the governor level, but also for a legislature that has been very fiscally conservative.” Sec. Hargett

Transcript
Announcer: For the politics of Nashville, to the history of the Upper Cumberland, this is the Backroads and Backstories podcast, with Senator Paul Bailey.

Sen. Bailey: Welcome back to the podcast. I'm your host, Senator Paul Bailey. Today's guest is Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett. Welcome, Mr. Secretary, glad you joined us.

Sec. Hargett: Thank you, Senator. I appreciate the invitation.

Sen. Bailey: Yes, sir. We're always happy to have our friends here in the state government join us for our podcast so that our listeners can always learn more about state government. So, before we get started, tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school? Tell us a little bit of your family.

Sec. Hargett: Well, thank you for asking. I grew up in Ripley, Tennessee, which is all the way on the western part of the state, about an hour north of Memphis. Graduated Ripley High School, and then, later on, went and got my bachelor's degree in accounting from Memphis State University. That tells you how long ago that was.

And then got my master's degree in business administration from the University of Memphis, whatever it changed names, about a year and a half later. So, that's where I'm from. I lived down in the Bartlett area until 2007, at which time I moved over to East Tennessee after leaving the House of Representatives, and my wife and two sons now live in Hendersonville, Tennessee. So, the 17-years-old and 13-year-old boys.

Sen. Bailey: So, you mentioned that you were a state representative. How many years were you a state representative?

Sec. Hargett: I served 10 years in the House of Representatives, so first elected 1996, and re-elected four more times, and retired voluntarily in 2006 after 10 years. I was one of those people that said I was going to serve 10 years in the State House of Representatives, no more than that. And so, I kept my word and didn't run for reelection that year.

Sen. Bailey: Now, I also understand you were a Minority Leader during that time.

Sec. Hargett: There's a interesting story about that. When I became the Republican Leader in 2002, I told people, we were going to quit calling it ‘Minority Leader,’ we would call ‘republican’ because ‘minority’ was temporary and ‘republican’ wasn’t.

Sen. Bailey: Oh, okay.

Sec. Hargett: And so I told them we need to start thinking about not being in the minority anymore and begin developing our plans to build up to the majority. So, we call it ‘Republican Leader’ back then.

Sen. Bailey: And how many years were you Republican Leader?

Sec. Hargett: Twice elected as Republican Leader.

Sen. Bailey: Okay. So, you basically served four years, then, as Republican Leader.

Sec. Hargett: Well, and actually, my last year I didn't serve as Republican Leader. I had accepted a job within my company. It required a lot of travel, and I was going back and forth between Memphis and Knoxville every other week, and just would not have been able to do it. And knew I was retiring, so it was better to go and pass baton to somebody, and let somebody else lead and also get ready for the upcoming reelections for those people.

Sen. Bailey: So, tell me what you see is the differences between your time as a state representative and the Republican Leader and today.

Sec. Hargett: Wow, a lot of differences. And one of the big ones, though, is—be pretty obvious is that Republicans being in control feels like has made a big difference in how our state has been governed. One of our friends and I—Ron Ramsey, we used to talk a lot about when we were both in the minority, we talked about how it matters who governs and the decisions we get to make as we lead. So, when I was in the House of Representatives, I was in the minority for five terms, and I knew that anytime I had an idea, or one of our members had an idea on the House floor, I had to appeal to at least five other people on the other side of the aisle to get them to come over to our side to be able to pass any amendment or any bill that we wanted to do.

And now of course, with Republican supermajorities, it's much different to be able to take an idea that we see and be able to go ahead and pass those things after they pass the smell test and the committee process. And so, we're able to govern is the real big difference. And as you know, you and your colleagues have given me the opportunity to serve as secretary of state, I'm elected every four years by members of the House of Representatives and the Senate coming together in a joint convention. And now you've given me the opportunity, with some autonomy, to be able to go and run a department of over 300 people and show that Tennessee government can, in fact, work with a lot of business-like principals.

Sen. Bailey: So, when the General Assembly convenes in January, will this be your time for reelection?

Sec. Hargett: I'll be asking for your vote for reelection this January. Yes, sir.

Sen. Bailey: