Bill Preventing Tennessee Voter Registration For Illegal Immigrants, Convicted Felons, Advancing In The Senate

Image Credit: TN General Assembly

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

A bill that would prevent Tennessee voter registration for illegal immigrants and convicted felons is advancing in the Senate, giving its House counterpart a chance of moving forward in that chamber.

On Tuesday, Senate Bill 0133 (SB0133), sponsored by Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin-District 27), passed in the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee. In a bipartisan 10 to 0 vote, the bill was referred to the Senate Calendar Committee, the final step before a final vote by the full Senate body.

After House Bill 0069 (HB0069) was placed behind the budget last week due to an $800 thousand fiscal note, its fate was potentially stalled for the year.

Bill sponsor House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland-District 44) had said that because most of the note would be covered by a grant that he had “high hopes” that the bill would make it back out. This looks more likely now that the companion bill is making its way to the Senate floor. 

The legislation establishes “major safeguards to strengthen election integrity in Tennessee” by setting up new verification systems and requiring visual distinctions on the face of photo IDs.

The bill proposes three main objectives with a deadline of January 1st, 2028:

First, it requires that the Secretary of State work with local and state election officials to create a secure electronic portal for county election administrators to verify United States citizenship and voter eligibility.

Second, it requires that 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.

Third, the legislation would require 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.

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.