The state of Tennessee is very skilled at voter suppression, but Friday, the Elections Division has set a new bar and taken an even more extreme turn to suppress the votes of hundreds of thousands more Tennesseans based upon their misinterpretation of the Falls v. Goins TN Supreme Court Decision.

Friday, the Coordinator of Elections, issued a unilateral memorandum to all TN county election administrators, informing them of this “new rule” that now requires anyone with a felony conviction in Tennessee, out-of-state, or federal, when restoring their voting rights, to have their rights of citizenship restored, either through executive clemency or a court, AND restore their right to vote through the administrative Certificate of Restoration process.

Despite the fact that Tennessee already had the most convoluted voter restoration law of any state; is number one in the country for felony disenfranchisement of Black and Latinx voters; is number two in the country for felony disenfranchisement; is the only state that requires an individual to be up to date on child support; and is one of only a handful of states that permanently disenfranchises anyone; or connects any financial obligations to restoring the right to vote, this change has made the restoration of voting rights tremendously more difficult and we view this change as an intentional and aggressive retaliatory form of voter suppression.

Tennessee now joins only two other states with permanent disenfranchisement for all people with felony convictions absent extraordinary, discretionary action from the governor or the courts.

To restore citizenship rights, a person will need to either seek clemency, in which one must wait a period of time after they’re released, OR petition a court. One could wait for several years for clemency, and there is a very slight chance that it will be granted.

On the other hand, the court restoration process is extremely meticulous and costly. Currently, there are no prose petitions on the Davidson County civil court website, which means that individuals who may already be indigent have to hire an attorney and pay a $159.50 filing fee. The petition must be filed in the county or counties of conviction and the local district attorney’s office must be notified. If the local district attorney’s office does not respond within 30 days, then the individual will have to file a motion to set the case on the judge’s docket. This could result in setting the case for a hearing or in the alternative granting the motion. However, if the judge sets the case for a hearing, in their sole discretion, they may grant or deny the petition. If the petition is denied, then the individual would have to attempt to seek an appeal, which is even more meticulous and costly than the petition for full restoration of citizenship rights.

Even if a person is able to restore their citizenship rights through either of the above processes, they would still have to obtain a Certificate of Restoration (COR). Prior to Monday's ruling, the Election Division considered this Tennessee’s sole voting right restoration process. It has the most onerous eligibility criteria in the country, including paying off court costs and restitution, a modern-day poll tax, and currency on child support. Additionally, even people who meet the criteria are often unable to obtain a COR because the process is inaccessible, opaque, and error-ridden; that process is currently the subject of a lawsuit brought by Free Hearts, the Tennessee NAACP, Campaign Legal Center, Baker Donelson, and Equal Justice Under Law.

“At Free Hearts, we have worked diligently to help individuals that have been unduly burdened by the current rights restoration process with the work that we do in the community. Friday’s misinterpretation by the State, not only adds additional barriers to the rights restoration process but also demonstrates the State’s unwavering commitment to voter suppression in this State,” Attorney Keeda Haynes, ESQ, Senior Legal Advisor, Free Hearts.

Free Hearts urges Governor Lee to correct Friday’s unilateral misinterpretation by the Elections Division using his executive powers to restore voting rights to those who are disenfranchised because of a felony conviction. “Free Hearts believes that it is every person’s fundamental and constitutional right to vote. We firmly believe that every person, regardless of their past mistakes, deserves a second chance and the opportunity to participate fully in the democratic process. We urge Governor Lee to take immediate action and follow in the footsteps of Governor Reynolds of Iowa to restore voting rights. We must empower our citizens and ensure their right to vote is not unjustly tied to bureaucratic hurdles and cumbersome processes. That is what democracy looks like," Dawn Harrington, Executive Director, Free Hearts.