Under present law, a person who convicted of a felony offense is disqualified from voting. A person who loses the right to vote because of a felony conviction may register to vote and vote at any election for which the person is eligible by submitting sufficient proof to the administrator of elections in the county in which the person is seeking to register to vote, that: (1) The person has been pardoned of all infamous crimes and the person's full rights of citizenship, including the right of suffrage, have been restored; (2) The person's full rights of citizenship have been restored as prescribed by law; or (3) An appellate court of competent jurisdiction has entered a final judgment reversing the person's conviction, or convictions, of all infamous crimes. Subject to certain exceptions, this bill instead provides that a person who has been convicted of a felony has their voting rights restored upon completion of their sentence. This bill retains the present law provision that prohibits a person convicted of one of the following offenses from ever being eligible to register to vote in Tennessee: first degree murder; aggravated rape; treason; or voter fraud. This bill provides that a person may demonstrate to the administrator of elections that the person has completed the sentence for a felony conviction by presenting a certificate of voting rights restoration, upon a form prescribed by the coordinator of elections, issued by: (1) The warden or an agent or officer of the incarcerating authority; or (2) A parole officer, probation officer, or another agent or officer of the supervising authority. The full text of this bill describes the process whereby a person convicted of a felony who becomes eligible to vote based on completion of the person's sentence will be issued a certificate of voting rights restoration, and the process for submitting the certificate for voter registration purposes. This bill requires the department of correction to communicate at least twice monthly to the secretary of state a list of those newly eligible persons to enable voter registration upon application using a certificate of voting rights restoration. This bill authorizes a person convicted in another state or in federal court of a criminal offense that would be a felony offense in Tennessee to have their voting rights restored upon completion of their sentence. This bill authorizes a person convicted of a felony to petition for restoration of full rights of citizenship upon the expiration of their sentence.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 2-2-102, 2-2-116, 2-2-139(a), 2-2-139, 2-2-139(b), 2-19-143, 40-29-101, 40-29-105(b)(2), 40-29-105, 40-29-202, 40-29-203