BRENTWOOD, Tenn.- On Tuesday, The Williamson County Election Commission withdrew its lawsuit against the city of Brentwood, regarding its demand to use the Brentwood Library as a location for early voting.
In November of 2011 the Williamson County Election Commission contacted the city of Brentwood and expressed interest in holding early voting at the library from February 22nd-28th, 2012. Brentwood City Manager, Mike Walker turned down the request, citing that the library meeting rooms were already booked for those particular dates.
In January the Williamson County Election Commission filed a lawsuit against the city saying ""The Brentwood Library is a public library supported by taxes and we feel it is an appropriate location for use as a polling location. Any government entity is required to make itself available for use as a polling location. We are seeking the court's determination on that issue."
On Tuesday the Election Commission decided to withdraw the lawsuit and retract the demand for use of the library. The Commission instead requested the Williamson County Chancery Court review the election laws and decided if the right to declare a voting location falls only to the Election Commission or equally between the Election Commission and authorities that control public buildings, such as county and municipal governments.
"The City of Brentwood welcomes the decision made today by the Election Commission to amend its lawsuit. Once we have seen the actual amended complaint, the City will make a decision about how to proceed," said Brentwood City Manager Mike Walker.
"It's important that all participants have a clear understanding of how various statutes interrelate and what those statutes mean. The Election Commission believes that the best way to resolve a genuine good faith disagreement on this subject is to ask the Chancery Court for a ruling. By amending the lawsuit in this way, the Election Commission can allow Brentwood Library to go forward with its current plans for February with minimal disruption, while seeking clarification from the Court for future election," said Election Commission Chairman Bob Brown
Instead voting taking place at the Brentwood Library, the Election Commission chose to hold early voting at Berry's Chapel Church of Christ, located at the intersection of Hillsboro Road and Berry's Chapel Road.
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