NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennesseans convicted of crimes can apply to vote again without restoring their gun rights under a bipartisan bill that will face some skepticism from the Republican Party as it moves forward later this session.
The effort by Democratic Republican Antonio Parkinson and Republican Senator Paul Bailey to disentangle the two rights has cleared initial hurdles, but some remain in the expected final weeks of the annual session.
The proposal aims to undo restrictions put in place in July, when election officials interpreted a state Supreme Court ruling as requiring people convicted of crimes to have their full citizenship rights restored by a judge or prove they have been pardoned before they can apply for restored voting rights. . In January, the elections office confirmed that restoring voting rights would also require regaining gun rights.
Since July, officials have approved 12 applications to restore voting rights and rejected 135, according to the secretary of state. In the previous seven months, about 200 people were approved and 120 rejected.
Voting rights advocates have argued that the elections office’s legal interpretations stray far from the basics. A group of Democratic lawmakers has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate. And a lawsuit over Tennessee’s recovery process has been ongoing for years.
The bill would allow a judge to restore a person’s right to vote, separate from other rights, including those related to guns, serving on a jury, holding public office and certain fiduciary powers.
People who have paid their debt to society should regain some rights, especially to vote, Baily said.
“We want to make that clear,” he said.
In Tennessee, crimes involving drugs or violence specifically take away a person’s gun rights, and high-level action, such as a governor’s pardon, is needed to restore their right to vote.
The gun issue adds to an existing, complicated list of disqualifying crimes that differ depending on the date of conviction.
Expulsion provides a separate path to restoring voting rights, but many crimes are ineligible.
Tennessee had established a process under a 2006 law for people convicted of a crime to petition for the restoration of their voting rights. It allows them to seek reinstatement if they can prove they have served their sentences and do not owe any outstanding court costs or child support. An applicant does not have to go to court or receive a pardon from the governor.
Now applicants must regain their citizenship rights and complete the old process.
John Weare, a U.S. Navy veteran, told a House subcommittee on Wednesday that he faces a decades-old aggravated assault charge in another state that has eliminated his gun rights. He said he had been working to restore voting rights for four years when the elections office decided he also needed his gun rights back.
Weare, a plaintiff in the Tennessee voting rights restoration lawsuit, said not being able to vote makes him feel like a “non-American.”
“I ask you to support this bill, which will give me the opportunity to vote according to the conservative Christian values I hold dear,” Weare said, “and allow me to be an active participant in my community and be part of the democratic society. process, which I have served my country to protect, and which makes our country great.”
But the bill’s chances are uncertain. Some prominent Republicans were skeptical.
Asked whether changes were needed in the system, House Majority Leader William Lamberth previously said: “My advice is: don’t commit a crime.”
Senate President Randy McNally told The Associated Press early this year that he would favor even stricter restrictions. Republican Gov. Bill Lee has been open to voting rights reforms, but says lawmakers should take the lead on any potential changes.
Some Republican dissenters have said they would rather lump it into a broad study of citizenship rights laws and a bill proposing changes next year.
“This entire code needs to be rewritten from top to bottom,” Lamberth told reporters on Friday.