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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
While only U.S. citizens may legally vote in Tennessee elections according to the Tennessee State Constitution – Article IV Section 1 – and state code – TCA 2-2-102 – says that an individual who is not a citizen of the United states shall not vote in a federal, state, or local election, the state’s system for voter registration is not as strong as it could be.
According to the Secretary of State’s website, there is no requirement in Tennessee to specifically prove citizenship when registering to vote.
The state essentially leaves it up to individuals to be honest when registering as would-be voters must only check a box that confirms they are a citizen of the United States.
On voting day, voters must show I.D. that matches their registration in order to vote but many forms of identification are available to both citizens and legal residents who are not authorized to vote. Most voters pull out a driver’s license as identification but both citizens and noncitizen legal residents can obtain drivers licenses and Real IDs.
According to The Center Square, Tennessee’s state constitution does not expressly forbid noncitizens from voting in elections. The state also does not have an upcoming ballot measure regarding the issue of noncitizen voting.
Noncitizens were banned from voting in elections at the federal level when U.S. Congress passed legislation in 1996. While this federal law prohibited noncitizens from voting in elections for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and for the office of President, states were left to decide for themselves what they would allow.
Each state’s constitution refers to U.S. citizenship when it comes to voting but specific laws on whether a noncitizen can cast a ballot varies. Eight states – Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin – have a ballot measure coming up in November that will either ban noncitizens from voting in state or local elections, or allow it.
In Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio, noncitizens are explicitly prohibited from voting according to the constitutions in those states. Some jurisdictions in California, Maryland, and Vermont allow it.
While federal lawmakers have been at work to require that voters produce proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, has only passed the House so far. The bill passed 221-198 in July with all Republicans in support along with five Democrats, but in the Senate where Democrats have a majority, the bill has stalled.
Speaker Mike Johnson has said that six states have found “thousands and thousands” of illegal aliens on voter rolls after audits were conducted.
According to The Center Square, an estimated 12.5 million people have entered the United States illegally since January 2021 when President Joe Biden took office.
Go HERE to read up on a timeline of events related to illegal immigration in our state since 2018 and our Republican-led General Assembly’s poor performance on legislation to deter illegal aliens from coming to the Volunteer State.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
2 Responses
When I moved to TN in 2005 I was required to provide either a passport or birth certificate to obtain my state drivers license to prove I was a US citizen.
Is this still not the case?
If non-citizens can get a TN Driver’s License, that needs to change OR give them a special type that says “Non-Citizen” on it.
Don’t let them vote in federal, state or local elections.