Election Commission Members

Will “Butch” Burns is an attorney with degrees from Middle Tennessee State University and the Nashville School of Law. Mr. Burns spent almost 30 years in state government positions largely dedicated to public policy development and implementation and representing his agencies before the General Assembly. His work was mostly in public higher education, as well as five years as the State Coordinator of Elections.

As elections coordinator, Mr. Burns worked with county election officials to seek passage of legislation to create and then implement Early Voting and agency-based voter registration in Tennessee. He also held several leadership positions in the National Association of State Election Directors.

Mr. Burns is a Colson Fellow of the Colson Center of Christian Worldview and has served on various nonprofit boards, currently including Williamson College, The Tennessee Center for Bioethics and Culture, and Graffiti Ministries Learning Center in Brooklyn, NY.

He and his wife Maribeth have been married for over 40 years, have two daughters and five grandchildren, and are active at The Village Chapel. Mr. Burns enjoys running, live music events, and spending time with his family.

Betty Lynn Duley is a long-time resident of Middle Tennessee. She works part-time at the Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, holding a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from Berry College and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary.

For over a decade she worked in environmental health with a local agency of the Environmental Protection Agency. She was also the director of an innovative program for people with early to mid-stage dementia. Ms. Duley remains an avid student of development and research in medicine.

Having served as a Poll Official in Davidson County since 2008, Ms. Duley continues her family’s tradition of being civically engaged and committed to the betterment of their local community. The spirit of involvement modeled by her parents and grandparents is woven into the fabric of her life.

Betty Lynn serves as an officer of the Board of Directors of her homeowners’ association and faithfully attends World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro.