Tennessee Legislature Passes Bill Requiring Absentee Ballot Watermarks

The Tennessee legislature included an amendment to an election-related bill that would require a “non-visible” watermark on every absentee ballot.

The Tennessee Election Integrity Act, which passed the Senate 27-0 and the House 92-1, would go into effect in January 2022 if Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) signs it, the Center Square reported.

According to a bill summary:

Under present law, signature verification is the final verification necessary before a counting board counts absentee ballots. Under this amendment, signature verification will remain part of the verification process but will not be the final verification. This amendment requires a counting board official to verify that the absentee ballots contain the watermark and reject any ballot that does not bear the watermark.