Jimmie Garland of the NAACP Tennessee testifying before a legislative committee. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Tennessee won’t have to implement any changes to how people with felony convictions can register to vote ahead of this year’s state and federal elections after three judges on U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction.
U.S. District Judge William Campbell ruled in June that Tennessee officials violated federal voting law by requiring formerly incarcerated felons to provide additional proof to have their voting rights restored.
The Sixth Circuit’s decision, issued on June 28, temporarily blocks Campbell’s ruling, saying it required changes to the election too close to August state primary elections. The court also indicated that the state is likely to succeed in its appeal as the judges questioned whether the Tennessee NAACP had the proper standing to file the suit in the first place.
The NAACP filed a lawsuit against state officials in 2020, challenging the extensive requirements for people with felony convictions to regain the right to vote after being released from prison.
Tennessee law strips a convicted felon of their voting rights, but a formerly incarcerated individual can petition to have those rights restored through a complicated process that requires them to show proof they paid all their court fines and fees.
There are exceptions. Before 1981, the felony vote-stripping law only applied to a narrow set of convicted crimes.
Judges John Bush, Joan Larsen, and Eric Murphy issued the injunction. Former President Donald Trump appointed all three.
Primaries for Tennessee’s state and federal offices are on August 1, with early voting starting July 12. The last day to register to vote for the primaries is July 2.
The general election for state and federal offices is November 5.
The injunction
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