“The election system is broken in Shelby County.”

- Tenn. Senate District 29 Candidate Terry Roland, speaking Tuesday at a meeting of the Shelby County Conservative Republican Club. Roland (right) is pictured above with attorney Lang Wiseman.

The Memphis Flyer’s Jackson Baker covered Roland’s speech here and also has an update on the legal and political battle for the State Senate here.

Below is a statement issued by Roland’s attorneys following Judge Bernice Donald’s ruling in the case:

Terry Roland is satisfied with the federal court ruling because, at the end of the day, the court recognized that the State Senate has the ultimate authority to resolve the election dispute, and therefore permitted it to move forward and finish the process that was unnecessarily delayed by Ms. Ford. The court did order the Senate to set up rules to ensure that the rights of the challenged voters are protected, but Terry views this part of the ruling as an opportunity, not something to be worried about.

The facts are the facts, and they are not going to change. Dead people, for example, are not going to come back to life. Convicted felons are not going to suddenly become “un-convicted.”

By affording the challenged voters a chance to respond to the various questions raised, the Senate has the opportunity to show, once and for all, that this was indeed a tainted election. And it will have the added benefit of removing any suspicion or ammunition for those who try to dismiss Terry’s challenge as sour grapes or backroom politics.

Terry welcomes the truth, and he looks forward to the Senate completing its work.