The 901: How Memphis can put a stop to misleading bogus ballots

Good morning from Memphis, where FedEx is trimming employee health benefits and foregoing annual bonuses amidst a global economic slowdown. But first...

This past election, not for the first time, Memphis voters were met at the polls by people paid to push pay-to-play candidate endorsement ballots designed to misinform them.

Here's how it worked this year: Two corporations, the Greater Memphis Democratic Club and Shelby County Democratic Club, among others, charged a fee to put candidates on their ballots. Then Caissa Public Strategy hired people to distribute what they were told to say were "official" ballots to voters. And, of course, when you hand someone a ballot with "Democratic" and donkeys at the top and tell them it's "official," some voters are going to assume it comes from the Shelby County Democratic Party.

But it didn't. While the Republican Party of Shelby County endorsed a handful of candidates in the City Council races, the Democratic Party didn't endorse any.

The Democratic Party brought a lawsuit that resulted in a judge issuing a temporary restraining order against the two companies at 11:44 a.m. on Election Day. But that didn't stop Caissa and others from continuing to hand out ballots, and the Democratic Party will probably pursue criminal contempt charges as a result, according to the story, which was written by our Daniel Connolly, Sam Hardiman and Sarah Macaraeg.

That's the gist.

Are these bogus ballots sleazy politics? Yes, and the men behind the ballots — Greg Grant, who owns Greater Memphis Democratic Club Inc., and M. LaTroy Williams, who owns Shelby County Democratic Club Inc. — should be ashamed of themselves for trying to make a profit at the expense of the integrity of our elections. And candidates should be ashamed for allowing themselves to be associated with deceptive ballots.

But at the same time, this isn't a new problem. These kinds of pay-to-play ballots have been a staple of Memphis politics for years — in part because they work. And that's the real problem: As long as the ballots work, candidates will continue forking over for them.

So, the larger question raised by the investigation is, how do we make these kinds of ballots not work? One way: Instead of sitting on its hands until midway through Election Day, the Democratic Party should have acted early and decisively against the ballots. Another way: Maybe next election the Democratic Party should make endorsements and have its own volunteers handing them out, at least at the more heavily trafficked polls.

But those are Band-Aids. In the "Fake News" era, when fact and fiction are so easily confused, with social media compounding the problem, the only way to stop election misinformation is to inoculate voters with the truth. Our Tonyaa Weathersbee makes that point in her column riffing on the investigation, writing that voters have to "do the work that democracy requires." That means doing the research and meeting the candidates, but also — not to put too fine a point on it — subscribing to and consuming local news.

On the flip side, The Commercial Appeal has a duty to give voters the information they need to make a decision. We hope you'll support while also holding us accountable.

University of Memphis law professor and former Shelby County commissioner Steve Mulroy — who endorsed and donated to newly elected council member Jeff Warren, whose opponent, Cody Fletcher, appeared on the bogus ballots — also made the point:

“We have systematized voter deception, which is really inexcusable. On the one hand, legitimate, non-misleading ballots can play a really useful role in educating low-information voters, but the deceptive ballots are basically undermining democracy,” said Mulroy. “It’s the distinction between honestly informing voters and deceptively informing voters. I think that does make all the difference.”

FedEx trims some health benefits

Facing a global economic slowdown, Memphis' largest employer FedEx will pare down health benefits for some of its 450,000 employees, 30,000 of whom live in the city.

Our Max Garland reports on the changes for employees of the shipping giant:

In 2020, FedEx will require a surcharge for working spouses of employees, end out-of-network coverage and phase out domestic and civil union partner benefits, the company said in a recent newsletter.

Max goes on to report that the spousal surcharge will be $150, which is $50 more than the median for spousal surcharges, according to professional services network PricewaterhouseCoopers. At the same time, employees' annual deductibles are expected to increase, for the first time since 2014, by $100-$300.

In other words, it's not a great day for FedEx workers — although, to be fair, the changes are increasingly commonplace in the modern workplace, and could be worse.

Speaking of FedEx troubles: Don't expect annual bonuses in 2020, Max also writes.

Things to know, places to go, in the 901

• Our Phillip Jackson was at the press conference called by the family of Lamorris Robinson, who was shot in the back with a sawed-off shotgun as he fled the shop of Charles Kalb, who has since been charged with murder.
• "If you're a small group on a large campus with an urgent message, white pants with a red splatter of paint on the crotch can do wonders for drawing attention." That's the way our Micaela Watts begins her story on an anti-circumcision rally at the University of Memphis, and it only gets better from there. Micaela also reports that the Memphis Zoo is reviewing its gun policy after a guest shot himself in the leg and was issued a misdemeanor citation for unlawful possession of a weapon.
• Memphis rapper NLE Choppa donated $5,000 to the American Red Cross after a tornado hit the Parkway Village area, our Phillip Jackson reports.

The Fadeout: Healy's 'Tucson'

Memphis-based Healy a couple of weeks ago now released his latest, "Tucson." Take a listen here:

Like The Fadeout? The 901's Spotify playlist has all of the available featured songs from local artists.

Columnist Ryan Poe writes The 901, a running commentary on all things Memphis. Reach him at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @ryanpoe.

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