Bill Preventing Illegal Immigrants, Convicted Felons From Registering To Vote In Tennessee To Be Heard In House Committee

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –

A bill to establish “major safeguards to strengthen election integrity in Tennessee” is scheduled for consideration in the House State and Local Government Committee this Wednesday. 

House Bill 69 (HB0069), sponsored by Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland-District 44), previously passed in the House Elections and Campaign Finance Subcommittee by a 6-1 vote.

This legislation essentially does three things:

• Requires the Secretary of State to work with local and state election officials to create a secure electronic portal for county election administrators to verify U.S. citizenship and voter eligibility by January of 2025.
• Requires the coordinator of elections, in collaboration with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, to create a similar portal to verify whether someone is ineligible to vote because of a felony conviction by January of 2025.
• Requires a visual distinction, such as a color or font on the face of a photo identification license, to differentiate the class designation for the purpose of voting.

HB0069 is currently scheduled for consideration during a 1:30PM (CST) meeting of the full House State and Local Government Committee on March 19^th, 2025. 

Contact information for committee members can be found below.

HB0069 Summary: As introduced, requires the coordinator of elections, in collaboration with the department of safety and Tennessee bureau of investigation, to create two electronic portals prior to January 1, 2028, for purposes of verifying an applicant’s eligibility to vote based upon United States citizenship and conviction of a felony prior to registering the applicant to vote; requires department of safety to issue lawful permanent residents a temporary driver license, instead of a standard license, to aid in determining voter eligibility for someone who presents a Tennessee driver license as identification.

Rep.john.crawford@capitol.tn.gov, rep.dave.wright@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jeff.burkhart@capitol.tn.gov, rep.ed.butler@capitol.tn.gov, rep.michele.carringer@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jesse.chism@capitol.tn.gov, rep.vincent.dixie@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov, rep.dan.howell@capitol.tn.gov, rep.tom.leatherwood@capitol.tn.gov, rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov, rep.greg.martin@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jake.mccalmon@capitol.tn.gov, rep.larry.miller@capitol.tn.gov, rep.bo.mitchell@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jerome.moon@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jason.powell@capitol.tn.gov, rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov, rep.tim.rudd@capitol.tn.gov, rep.iris.rudder@capitol.tn.gov, rep.gabby.salinas@capitol.tn.gov, rep.todd.warner@capitol.tn.gov

About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. Adelia is The Tennessee Conservative’s on-site reporter for the Tennessee General Assembly. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.