CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION By January 1, 2028, this bill requires the coordinator of elections, in collaboration with the department of safety ("department"), to create a secure, electronic portal through which each county administrator of elections may access information to verify, prior to processing an applicant's application to register to vote, whether the applicant is a non-United States citizen based upon records on file. To meet the deadline, the coordinator of elections and department must accomplish all of the following:  Identify the parameters of information of an applicant to register to vote that may be submitted and received through the portal by an administrator.  Ensure that, upon submission of such information, the administrator receives accurate and current information regarding the citizenship status of the applicant on file with the department without undue delay.  Ensure that the portal has the capacity to respond to a high volume of daily submissions by administrators. This bill authorizes the coordinator of elections and department to develop a temporary alternative method for the verification of citizenship by an administrator in the event that the portal is offline, inaccessible, malfunctioning, or undergoing maintenance. This bill provides that if a county administrator rejects an application based upon information received through the portal, the administrator must provide written notice to the applicant of the applicant's right to appeal the decision. FELONY CONVICTION VERIFICATION By January 1, 2028, this bill requires the coordinator of elections, in collaboration with the Tennessee bureau of investigation (TBI), to meet all of the same requirements listed above in order to create a secure, electronic portal through which each county administrator of elections may access information to verify, prior to processing an applicant's application to register to vote, whether the applicant is ineligible to vote based upon records on file as the result of a felony conviction, or alternatively, whether an applicant who has been convicted of a felony is eligible to vote as the result of expunction. RIGHT TO APPEAL Present law provides that if the administrator of elections determines that a registrant is not entitled to be registered, then the administrator must tell the registrant that the registrant has a right to appeal the decision to the election commission within 10 days and offer the registrant an appeal form. This bill requires the administrator to provide written notice to the registrant that the registrant has a right to such an appeal within 10 days from the date the notice was sent. The administrator must include with such notice an appeal form. IDENTIFICATION FOR VOTING For purposes of verifying a person's identity on an application for ballot, present law requires a person to provide evidence of identification to the precinct registrar. Various forms of identification must be accepted by the registrar, including driver licenses of this state, not distinguishing between permanent or temporary licenses. This bill excludes temporary driver licenses of this state. TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSES Present law prohibits the department from issuing a driver license to certain ineligible persons, including a person who is not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States. This bill revises this provision to also make a lawful permanent resident of the United States ineligible for a driver license. Present law authorizes the department to issue a temporary driver license, temporary intermediate driver license, temporary photo identification license, or a temporary learner permit to persons whose presence in the United States has been authorized by the federal government for a specific purpose and for a specified period of authorized stay. The temporary driver license or photo identification license is valid only during the period of time of the applicant's authorized stay in the United States and no temporary license or photo identification license may be issued for a period of longer than eight years. This bill requires that such a temporary driver license, temporary photo identification license, or temporary permit include a visually distinctive font or color for the class designation on the face of the license to distinguish the temporary license from the license issued to United States citizens that may be used as photo identification for voting purposes. On or after January 1, 2026, if a lawful permanent resident renews or reinstates a driver license, permit, or photo identification license, this bill requires such resident to provide proof of United States citizenship to maintain the driver license, permit, or photo identification license. If such proof of citizenship is not provided, then the person must be issued a temporary driver license, temporary permit, or temporary photo identification license. However, a person who becomes a United States citizen may provide proof of such citizenship to the department at any time to receive a license. ON APRIL 21, 2025, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS #1 AND #2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 69, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 makes the following revisions:  Revises the provision describing what the portal should be able to do to, instead, require the portal to verify whether the applicant is ineligible to vote based upon records on file as the result of a Tennessee felony conviction, or alternatively, whether a person is eligible to vote.  Adds that any county administrator who accesses the portal for a purpose other than verifying a person's eligibility to register to vote or to vote must lose access to the portal. In consultation with the coordinator of elections, access may be reinstated at the discretion of the Tennessee bureau of investigation.  Removes the provisions described in the summary under the headings "Identification for Voting" and "Temporary Driver Licenses."  Requires the Tennessee bureau of investigation to share expunged information with the coordinator of elections, upon request, for the purposes of determining a person's eligibility to register to vote or to vote. AMENDMENT #2 revises the provisions of this bill concerning creation of the electronic portal. This amendment requires the coordinator of elections, in collaboration with the department of safety, prior to January 1, 2028, to create a secure, electronic portal through which each county administrator of elections may access information to verify, prior to processing an applicant's application to register to vote, whether the applicant is a United States citizen based upon records on file at the time of issuance of the most recent driver license or identification card or other credential from the department of safety. In order to create the portal, this amendment requires the coordinator of elections and the department to enter into an agreement that includes: (1) The necessary information an administrator must submit through the portal for an applicant registering to vote in order to ensure that only the correct applicant's information is produced; (2) The parameters of information of an applicant that will be produced to the administrator; (3) Any temporary alternative method for the verification of citizenship by an administrator in the event that the portal is offline, inaccessible, malfunctioning, or undergoing maintenance; (4) Circumstances that constitute misuse of the portal; and (5) Penalties for misuse of the portal or information from the portal. This amendment designates information sent and received through the portal as confidential and not available for public inspection. This amendment makes this bill contingent on obtaining federal grant funding to pay this bill's costs.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 2-2-125, 2-7-112(c)(1), 2-7-112, 55-50-303(a)(9), 55-50-303, 55-50-321(c)(1)(C), 55-50-321, 55-50-321(i)(1), 55-50-331(g), 55-50-331, 55-50-102(56), 55-50-102