NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Davidson County judge has dismissed a lawsuit hoping to remove thousands of disputed signatures from a petition to end racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
Chancellor Anne C. Martin ruled Wednesday that the Davidson County Election Commission was not required to create a process allowing voters to withdraw their names from the Restore Our Fairgrounds petition.
Attorneys representing Devra Bagwell and Decline to Sign argued Tuesday that thousands of names should have been removed before the petition was certified earlier this month.
"We're grateful that the Court reviewed these issues and rejected the opposition's frivolous legal arguments. At this point, the big question is: Why are they fighting so hard against letting voters decide this issue? The answer of course: They know they'll lose when this reaches the ballot."
The Restore Our Fairgrounds coalition received more than 2,000 emails requesting signature removals in September, but questioned whether those requests came directly from voters. The coalition followed up with those individuals, and 542 people confirmed they wanted their names removed.
Election officials ultimately certified 47,679 valid signatures, exceeding the 40,194 needed to put the petition on a ballot.
In her ruling, Martin found that while the Metro Charter requires election officials to verify signatures, it does not require them to establish a withdrawal process. She also noted that opponents have other legal options to challenge the commission's certification.
Martin asked multiple times during Tuesday's hearing why Bagwell and others didn't simply reach out to Restore Our Fairgrounds themselves, rather than have a third-party intervene on their behalf. Attorney Michael Cottone represented Decline to Sign and said often the replies from Restore Our Fairgrounds required an additional step for verification, only prolonging what should have been a simple request for removal from the petition.
"Since filing our initial cause of action, the Davidson County Election Commission voted to certify the verified petition signatures. That certification does not change the fact that more than 2,000 residents asked for their signature to be removed from the petition prior to them being submitted to the Election Commission because their signatures were gained through false and deceptive information provided by paid canvassers. These individuals' names should be removed. The law and facts support these claims, and other new claims that have recently come to light, but since the election commission has now acted, we will pursue them through the writ of certiorari process as outlined in the Metro Charter."
Much of the controversy behind the petition-gathering process has centered on whether canvassers misled people into signing without explaining that the proposal could end racing at the fairgrounds.
The coalition's vision would replace racing as a protected use of the fairgrounds with affordable housing and green space.
For now, the petition remains certified and is expected to appear on a future ballot unless another court intervenes.
September 11, 2001 is a day most associate with terror and tragedy. Austin Pollack shares a story from that day about hope and persistence: the effort to save a little girl’s life – with an organ donation. The problem? The young patient was in Houston, and her life-saving liver here in Nashville. With the grounding of all civilian aircraft, how could it be done? “Nobody ever said this isn’t possible.”
- Rhori Johnston
