A federal judge has ordered a recount of votes on a 2014 amendment to the Tennessee Constitution that made it easier to put restrictions on abortion.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp said the method that was used to count the votes was fundamentally unfair to the eight Tennessee voters who filed a lawsuit against state officials. They have maintained that the state incorrectly interpreted the way the votes should be counted and tallied them in favor of abortion opponents.
Adam Ghassemi, spokesman for state election officials, said in an email that he could not comment on pending litigation. Harlow Sumerford, spokesman for the Attorney General's office, said they were in the process of reviewing the order.
Amendment 1 passed with 53% of the votes in November of 2014. The amendment gave lawmakers more power to restrict abortions.
For an amendment to pass, the Tennessee constitution says it must be approved by "a majority of all the citizens of the state voting for governor."
