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Could Tennessee school boards soon face voter recalls?
That could happen under legislation filed by Rep. Torrey Harris, a Memphis Democrat, that would allow recall elections for school boards and other local offices.
The Memphis Democrat’s bill, which would apply statewide, is his latest effort aimed at the Memphis-Shelby County school board in the ongoing fallout from a controversial superintendent firing earlier this year.
House Bill 1448, which does not yet have a Senate sponsor, would allow a local resident to file a petition with the county election commission that demands a recall of a local elected official. The petition filer must have voted in the last local election and must gather the signatures equal to at least two-thirds of the total vote cast for the office in the last regular election to trigger the recall.
“This legislation [House Bill 1448] is about restoring the power of accountability where it belongs — with the people,” Harris said. “Our communities deserve to have confidence that if their elected leaders stop representing their values or fail to uphold the public trust, there is a process in place to act responsibly and democratically.”
Harris filed the legislation days before the Shelby County Commission was set for a final battle over another bill Harris passed in early 2025. Harris, along with Shelby County Republican Sen. Brent Taylor, passed legislation that allows local governing bodies to reset school board elections.
Though the legislation was nominally aimed at better aligning school board terms with other elected offices, it also was passed in the ensuing controversy after six Memphis-Shelby County school board members voted in January to fire the district’s new superintendent.
Shelby County commissioners voted in late September to put all nine school board seats up for reelection in 2026, cutting five board members’ terms short. But Mayor Lee Harris vetoed that resolution earlier this month, saying only emergencies or criminal conduct should stunt an elected official’s time in office.
The commission is expected to vote on Oct. 27 whether to override the mayor’s decision. The group needs eight votes to override, one more than the original resolution secured. Commissioner Mick Wright, who supports the 2026 reset, said winning that additional vote will be a “struggle.”
Rep. Mark White, a Memphis Republican who has been critical of current MSCS leadership and is leading a charge for increased state oversight in the district, said he needs to dig into the details of Harris’s proposal.
“Recalls are not really easy,” White said. “But I think for the citizens of Shelby County, if the elected officials are not serving them adequately, I think they should have the right to recall.”
Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.
