Four Tennessee Constitutional Amendments, Including Right-To-Work, Win By Large Margins

Image Credit: Brent Moore / CC

The Center Square [By Jon Styf] –

All four constitutional amendments on the Tennessee statewide ballot, including a proposal to put right-to-work legislation into the constitution, passed on Tuesday by a wide margin.

The right-to-work amendment further cements a law that has been in place since 1947, Tennessee is one of 27 states with such laws, which allow workers across the state to elect whether or not they would like to join a union. Without a law in place, unions can require membership as a condition of employment as they do federally.

“Right-to-work states like Tennessee have higher real income and employment growth than non-right-to-work states, and this vote once again ensures Tennessee will continue to be among the top states in the nation to live, work, and run a business,” the Yes on 1 Committee said in a statement. “We thank the voters of this state for standing up for this Tennessee tradition by enshrining it in our constitution.”

Amendment 4, which allows ministers to hold public office, had the closest margin of victory with 63.2% voting Yes and 36.8% voting No.

The rule against ministers holding public office was found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1978 but the words were never formally removed from the Tennessee Constitution.

Amendment 3, which passed with 79.5% of the vote, eliminates a clause where work can be required of those convicted of a crime. The amendment changes the state’s constitution to say “That slavery and involuntary servitude are forever prohibited in this State. Nothing in this section shall prohibit an inmate from working when the inmate has been duly convicted of a crime.”

“With nearly 80% of the vote in favor of the amendment — more than any of the other ballot measures this year — this is a ringing endorsement of freedom in our state,” the Yes on 3 committee said in a statement. “We have proven that this was not right or left, it was right or wrong. And we know tonight in Tennessee words still matter.”

The “Yes on 3” support included the mayors of Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Knox County and Chattanooga along with state lawmakers from both parties.

Amendment 2, which passed with 74.6% of the vote, creates a succession plan for the office of governor. Tennessee previously did not have a gubernatorial succession plan if a governor was incapacitated. The amendment would temporarily put the state’s lieutenant governor in charge without requiring that person to resign from his or her current post.

About the Author: Jon Styf, The Center Square Staff Reporter – Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Follow Jon on Twitter @JonStyf.