RESTORATION
OF VOTING RIGHTS:
A SUMMARY OF TENNESSEE LAW
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In order to register
and vote in Tennessee, any person who has been convicted of a felony
must have his or her voting rights restored. The following
information provides a description of that process.
General Information:
- If the person seeks to restore his or her citizenship
rights using a court order, then
a certified copy of the original order must be filed with the county
election commission office of residence.
- If the person seeks to restore his or her citizenship
rights using a certificate of
restoration, then the original certificate must be filed with
the county election commission office of residence.
a. The certificate
must be completed by the pardoning authority or an agent or officer of
the supervising or incarcerating authority and by an agent of the
circuit/criminal court
clerk;
b. The certificate is not
sufficient to restore a person's right to seek and hold
public office. The
person must obtain a judicial order for those purposes.
3. Persons convicted of a
felony between January 15, 1973, and May 17, 1981, did not
loose
their voting rights and therefore do not have to do anything to have
their rights
restored,
but would have to obtain a court order to seek and hold public
office. See
Crutchfield B. Collins, 607 S. W.
2D 478 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1980).
4. Upon submission of either a
certified copy of a judgment or the original certificate of
restoration to the county election commission office of residence, the
county
administrator of elections shall verify with the Coordinator of
Elections that the person
may
be registered to vote.
5. The Coordinator of Elections
will verify with the Department of Human Services (DHS)
that the
person either does not have a record of child support obligations, or
the record
reflects
that the person is up-to-date on the child support obligation payments.
Specific Procedures based
on Year of Conviction:
Persons convicted of a
felony on or after May 18, 1981, must submit an original
Certificate of Restoration
to their local county election commission office.
Persons found infamous in a judgment of conviction for abuse of a
female child; arson
and felonious burning; bigamy; bribary; burglary; felonious breaking
and entering a
dwelling house; felonious breaking into a business house, outhouse
other than a dwelling
house; larceny; horse stealing; robbery; receiving stolen property;
stealing bills of ex-
change or other valuable papers; destroying a will; incest; rape;
sodomy; buggery; or
perjury; subornation of perjury before
January 1973 must obtain a certified copy of a
court order.
rights restored:
Between July 1, 1986, and
June 30, 1996 - first degree murder, aggravated rape,
treason, or voter fraud;
Between July 1, 1996, and June 30, 2006 - murder, rape, treason, or
voter fraud;
On or after July 1, 2006 - Any of the above, or any degree of murder or
rape or any
felony offense under TCA Title 39, Chapter 16, parts 1, 4, or 5; any
sexual offense
undr TCA 40-39-202(17) or any violent sexual offense under TCA
40-39-202(25)
designated as a felony and where the victim of such offense was a minor.
To print a
Felony Restoration Form & Instructions
Click here:
http://state.tn.us/sos/election/forms/ss-3041.pdf
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