‘I kept punching for the Democrat’: Dolly Parton’s sister flags voting machine issue
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Stella Parton, the younger sister of country music star Dolly Parton, alleged that a voting machine at a library near Nashville repeatedly defaulted to Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn when she tried to cast her vote. In a Facebook post shared on Tuesday, October 20, Stella said she had to correct her selection three times.
Her account came as other voters in Tennessee reported similar difficulties while trying to vote. The complaints drew attention to the voting process ahead of a closely watched election, although the reports did not establish that votes were deliberately changed or that election interference had taken place.
Stella Parton says Tennessee voting machine repeatedly selected Marsha Blackburn
Stella said she encountered the problem while voting at Hermitage Library in Tennessee the previous week. According to her Facebook post, the machine kept defaulting to Blackburn despite her attempts to select another candidate.
“In Tennessee last week at the Hermitage Library where I voted, I had to go back three times and correct my vote because it kept defaulting to Marsha Blackburn," Stella wrote.
She made clear that she did not want to vote for Blackburn and urged other voters to check their selections before completing the process.
“I would never vote for her for anything,” she added, explaining that she decided to speak publicly because people take voting seriously but may hesitate to spend extra time correcting a problem when long lines are waiting.
“Do it anyway. Don’t let them rig this election,” Stella wrote.
She also described how the experience left her feeling, adding, “I’m more frightened and frustrated than angry.”
Jackie Herrud reports similar voting machine problem with Jerri Green selection
Stella was not the only Tennessee voter to describe difficulties while trying to select a candidate. On October 20, WSMV Nashville reported that at least two other people in nearby Williamson County had experienced similar issues.
One of them, Jackie Herrud, said she encountered a problem while voting at the Longview Recreation Center in Spring Hill, Tennessee. She told the news station that she repeatedly tried to select Democratic candidate Jerri Green but saw the selection return to Blackburn.
“I kept punching for the Democrat, Jerri Green, and it kept punching back to Marsha Blackburn,” Herrud said.
She described feeling frustrated and worried about whether her vote would be counted correctly.
“It just really kind of irritated me, and then I was very nervous about making sure that my vote was going to be counted right,” Herrud added.
According to WSMV, Herrud also said she spoke with poll workers who had heard similar complaints. The Tennessee Holler later shared her account on Instagram, where comments indicated that similar stories were also circulating in Texas.
Marsha Blackburn and Jerri Green race draws attention amid voting complaints
The reported problems came as Nashville experienced a sharp increase in voter turnout. According to information cited in the reports, turnout was 15 times higher than during the 2022 midterms.
The increase was linked to the closely watched Tennessee race involving Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Democratic candidate Jerri Green. With voters following the contest closely, reports of difficulties selecting a candidate attracted additional attention.
The allegations also came amid a wider history of claims about voting machines switching selections. Similar concerns were raised in Tennessee and Georgia, while Texas election officials denied allegations of vote switching in 2024.
Election officials in Tarrant County, Texas, reported one instance of a voting machine irregularity among 58,000 ballots cast on the first day of early voting.
