Creator of ballots masquerading as Democratic endorsements is back
Shelby County Democratic Party mulls action to protect its brand
The Memphis businessman behind the “bogus ballots” that a court previously ruled masqueraded as endorsements of the Democratic Party is issuing ballots once again, despite a permanent injunction issued in 2021.
On Thursday, a Commercial Appeal reporter was handed an “Official Ballot” while at the Shelby County Election Commission Downtown Office, at the time the only voting site open. The ballot bore the “Greater Memphis Democratic Club” logo and featured candidates in the Democratic primary ranging from Linda Harris, running for Shelby County District Attorney General, incumbent Sheriff Floyd Bonner and incumbent County Mayor Lee Harris.
Others around Shelby County have received similar ballots in the mail, according to images shown to The Commercial Appeal, with a major difference: Theirs feature the red and blue Democratic Party donkey.
The Shelby County Democratic Party is aware of the ballots but has not decided whether to pursue legal action, said Gabby Salinas, chair of the local party.
“We’re looking at our options right now so that we can protect our brand and our party. I think it’s important and the courts are on our side,” Salinas said. “It’s about using the name of the party … there’s lots of organizations that release report cards, that release ballots, but these are specifically harmful because these are bogus ballots trying to say they speak for the Democratic Party, and that’s done intentionally.”
A total of 3,910 people have voted in Shelby County as of Monday, according to the Shelby County Election Commission.
Both the ballots from the for-profit Memphis Democratic Club and another set of ballots have been heavily litigated. In 2019, the Shelby County Democratic Party and others sued Greg Grant, who is behind the Greater Memphis Democratic Club.
On the day of the Oct. 3, 2019 municipal election, Judge William Acree issued an order barring distribution of the ballots.
About six months later, in 2020, the defendants issued more ballots, and Acree sentenced Grant and Williams to 10 days imprisonment for criminal contempt of court. But he ordered the sentence suspended as long as the business owners didn’t violate his court order for the next 60 days, a period that covered that year’s Nov. 3 election and early voting.
In February 2021, Acree ruled that his injunction would become permanent, restraining the defendants, including Grant, from “distributing literature, disseminating information, or in any way communicating utilizing work, symbols, or graphical schemes reasonably implying endorsement of or affiliation with the Democratic National Committee, the Tennessee Democratic Party, or the Shelby County Democratic Party.”
Julian Bolton, attorney for Grant, said the actual language of the injunction is key, since it doesn’t speak to “any particular ballot,” only to the standards of a Tennessee statute dealing with not distributing material falsely represented as endorsed by another candidate or organization.
“(Grant) has gone to great lengths to remove any of the symbols of the Democratic Party, which constitutes the Democratic National Committee, Tennessee Democratic Party and Shelby County Democratic Party, which is spelled out clearly that those are the confines on the page two and four of the order,” Bolton said. “The scope of that violation has to do with him having a ballot that would suggest that he is mimicking or trying to replicate or fool people to think he is (part of the Democratic Party) … Clearly his ballot doesn’t say that. It’s bold, it has a seal, it has in bold that it’s a club not a party. … Who would mistake a ballot that’s saying the Greater Memphis Democratic Club from being confused with the Shelby County Democratic Party’s ballot or the Tennessee Democratic Party’s ballot or the National Democratic Party’s ballot? You can’t stop somebody from using the word Democrat. That’s unconstitutional.”
On the use of the donkey image, Bolton said he hadn’t seen that particular ballot, but that there is no prohibition on the use of the image that symbolizes Democrats, particularly since all of the individuals on the ballot are Democrats.
On the ballot, the logo appears next to the words “Greater Memphis Democratic Club” and is visible on the exterior of the mailer when it is folded.
“The donkey’s on everything,” Bolton said. “Toys, clothes, t-shirts. The donkey’s everywhere. It’s in the public domain. It does suggest Democrat, but all these people are Democrats.”
If the Shelby County Democratic Party were to sue, they would have to show intent to deceive, Bolton said.
A phone call to a number believed to belong to Grant was immediately disconnected after a reporter identified herself as an employee of The Commercial Appeal.
Campaign finance records show several candidates for office in this year’s Democratic primaries have paid funds to Target Marketing, an organization for which Grant was once listed as primary agent. While Grant is no longer listed as the group’s primary agent, the for-profit corporation is still registered at an address he owns.
Expenditures from campaigns have ranged from $4,000 from Lee Harris’ campaign for “consulting and poll supports” to $2,000 for “advertising” from Bonner’s campaign and $2,500 for “marketing” from Shelby County Trustee Regina Newman’s campaign and $1,000 from Linda Harris’ campaign for “advertising.”
It was unclear how much of that funding went toward their advertisement on the Greater Memphis Democratic Club ballot. Not every candidate pictured on the ballot appears to have paid for their place on it.
Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2799 or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.