NASHVILLE - Almost one in five of Benton County's voters got a letter in February saying their registration was invalid, triggering events that led last week to a call for a TBI investigation and a battle in the Legislature.

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The brewing legislative battle is over a Democrat-sponsored bill, awaiting floor votes in both the House and Senate this week, that declares that when a voter registration form is accepted by election officials, it cannot be declared invalid for some minor omission - unless fraud was involved or the omission was the voter's signature.

Christine Borchert, filling out a form to change her voter registration address back in 1963, failed to check the "yes" box beside a question asking if she was a citizen of the United States. She has voted in virtually every election in the 47 years since. The same form had a place for the voter to state his or her place of birth. She had written in Benton County, Tenn., which Rep. Borchert observes, "is in the United States."

Rep. Borchert says that, going by primary voting records, about 68 percent of the voters threatened with invalidation are Democrats. He won his last election by 344 votes and this year faces a rematch with the same Republican opponent, Timothy Wirgau. "They (Republicans) think that, if they can knock enough Democrats off the rolls, they can beat me this time," he said.

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