Secretary of State Hargett addresses voting integrity, low voter turnout, human trafficking

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, the most recent guest speaker at the Jackson Rotary Club, discussed the importance of voting and detailed a new state program to combat human trafficking.

Hargett has served as the 37th Secretary of State since 2009. He was re-elected in 2013, 2017 and 2021.

During his presentation to Rotarians, he urged young people in particular to understand the power of their vote.

"We are better as a society when we all engage in the process," Hargett said.

Hargett says voters can be rest assured that state elections are factual and fair, emphasizing that voters can be confident in the integrity of our democracy.

"If your person wins or loses, you can have confidence that the results of those elections are legitimate," he said. "That's why I'm proud that Tennessee is number one in the nation in election integrity."

Hargett is referring to The Heritage Foundation's national rankings based on a scorecard of more than a dozen categories used to quantify a state's election integrity.

Lower voter turnout plagues state

Despite a top ranking in election integrity, The Volunteer State is among the bottom five states for voter turnout according to the World Population Review.

Hargett added that 719,000 Tennesseans cast their vote in the Primary Election in March, totaling about 15% of registered voters.

"Tennessee has some of the lowest voter registration numbers and voter distribution numbers in the country," he said. "And some of that comes down to competitive races, some of that comes down to people just not placing the priority on going to vote."

When asked about those who don't vote because of the belief that their vote "doesn't matter," Hargett refuted the sentiment.

"We just want to make sure people understand that the best way to make your voice heard in our form of government is to cast your vote," he said.

Helping fight human trafficking

The Tennessee Businesses Against Trafficking (TBAT), a statewide training program spearheaded by Hargett, aims to mobilize businesses to fight against human trafficking.

After businesses interested in participating sign up to be a TBAT-affiliate, they can equip and empower employees with the resources and knowledge to be advocates for victims of human trafficking.

"Human trafficking is the second fastest growing criminal activity in our country, behind only drug trafficking," Hargett said.

"Tennessee is a long state with lots of interstates, so we're seeing a lot of it come through here, and it doesn't just happen in major cities, it's happening across our state, even in the smallest counties in our state."

With Interstate-40 running right through Jackson, Hargett encouraged local businesses to sign up for the program and do their part in fostering awareness.

"People here can be a part of helping fight his epidemic," he said.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Secretary of State Tre Hargett addresses low voter turnout in state