A group of Democratic Tennessee lawmakers is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate how the state has further restricted the process for people with felony records to get their voting rights back.
According to the letter, 22 Democratic lawmakers argue Tennessee’s elections office has stepped beyond what state law allows in requiring that people get their full citizenship rights restored or secure a pardon in addition to the restoration processes that have been in place.
“While Tennessee law permits restoration of voting rights through a straight-forward administrative procedure, the Tennessee Secretary of State has imposed an illegal, de facto procedure that injects obstacles, delay and extralegal standards that prevent virtually any eligible applicants from exercising the voting rights restored by law,” the letter states.
DeSantis basically did the same thing here in Florida after we voted to restore voting rights, then his brown shirts arrested a person who voted thinking that their rights were restored.
https://www.splcenter.org/news/2023/08/11/florida-laws-criminalize-voting-returning-citizens