TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Judge: State Not Required to Match Felony Voting Rights Laws in Other States

Posted by: Kate Prince on Oct 28, 2020
News Type: Election 2020

A Nashville judge has ruled that the state is not required to alter its post-felony voting rights access laws to match those of other states, the Tennessean reports.  Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle dismissed the case brought by two Tennesseans with out-of-state felony convictions who wanted the state to modify its voting rights restoration policies. There are ways for those with felony convictions to restore their voting rights, but the plaintiffs, both convicted out-of-state, found they were unable to fully become re-eligible to vote. "Because Tennessee is constitutionally permitted to legislate different standards than other states for restoration of the right to vote and Plaintiffs do not allege that they meet these standards, their challenges necessarily fail,” Lyle wrote. The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office reports that more than 3,400 individuals with felony convictions have had their voting rights restored since 2016.

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