Tennessee just made it harder for its own voters to know where to cast their ballots.

A bill recently passed by Tennessee Republicans redraws the state's congressional map, breaking up Memphis into three separate districts and eliminating the state's only majority-Black congressional seat. Buried inside that same legislation is a provision that strips away a protection voters have long relied on: the individual notification requirement.

Until now, when a polling place or precinct changed, Tennessee county election commissioners were required to mail individual notices to every affected voter and publish the changes in local newspapers. That requirement is now gone. Commissioners need only post changes to an official website, "if one exists."

The timing could not be worse. Memphis residents, whose congressional district is being redrawn, are among those most likely to see their polling places shift. And they are now among the least likely to be told about it.

Even the bill's own author, Tennessee Elections Coordinator Mark Goins, acknowledged the notification language may have been "too broad."

"A voter who doesn't know their polling place changed doesn't vote," said commentator Mike Young in a widely shared post about the law. "They show up at the old location, get turned away, and either don't have time to find the right place or give up entirely. This doesn't require anyone to be turned away at the door. The suppression happens before they ever leave the house."

That is not a partisan observation. It is a practical one. Voter confusion at the polls undermines democracy regardless of who it affects.

We are calling on Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly to immediately restore the individual voter notification requirement and ensure that every Tennessee voter whose polling place changes receives direct, personal notice before the next election.

Eligible voters should not lose their vote to a website post.