State Senator Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) is asking the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into a poll that solicited voters' opinions of the lawmaker. Campfield says the poll, conducted last month, may have violated anti-harassment laws.
A group called Citizen Opinion Research carried out the automated survey via phone, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported. Campfield said some households were called 20 to 30 times. Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols said such a call volume could violate anti-harassment laws, but that he suspected a computer error could have been responsible.
TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said Agent Darren DeArmond took the information Campfield provided to District A.G. Nichols. In most cases, rules dictate that a formal TBI investigation has to be requested by the district attorney general.
Nichols said he asked the TBI to get more information and would later decide whether to request a formal investigation.