GETTING YOUR VOTING RIGHTS RESTORED Getting your voting rights back may be easier than you think! If you have been convicted of a felony and you finished your court ordered obligations, there's still hope when it comes to being an engaged citizen and voter. The state of Tennessee has the right to deny any person convicted of “infamous crimes” from voting. A Certificate of Restoration of Voting Rights Form may be used to restore an individual's voting rights after being convicted of a felony. You may be eligible to get your voting rights restored if: • i. The pardoning authority or an agent or officer of the supervising or incarcerating authority; • You received a pardon and/or PLEASE NOTE: If there are multiple • You completed the maximum sentence imposed for the felonies,the form must be filled out for each felony with a different docket/case number. crime • You were granted final release from incarceration or super- • ii. An agent of the circuit/criminal court clerk Your parole officer should be able to complete this for you vision by the board of paroles, the department of correction, upon your completion of your parole responsibilities. If not, we or county correction authority recommend you call to set up an appointment with the follow- • You paid back any court order restitution ing agent for Davidson County: • You paid off all child support obligations • You paid all court ordered court costs If you were convicted of a state offense in Shelby County: Conditions under which you cannot have your voting 201 Poplar rights restored: 4th Floor Ph: 901-222-3375 • You were convicted between July 1, 1986 and June 30, 1996 If you were convicted of a federal offense: of first-degree murder, aggravated rape, treason or voter 167 N. Main Street fraud Room 234 Phone: 901-495-1400 • You were convicted between July 1, 1996 and June 30, 2006 of murder, rape, treason or voter fraud b) Verify that you do not owe any court costs, fines, fees, restitution, or child support. Contact the Shelby County • You were convicted on or after July 1, 2006 of any of the Criminal Court Clerk's Office: above, or any degree murder or rape or any offense under Howard Gentry TCA Title 39, Chapter 16, parts 1, 4 or 5 designated as a Heidi Kuhn felony or any violation containing the same elements and Criminal Court Clerk designated as a felony in any other state or federal court; or 201 Poplar Ave, Suite 4-01 any sexual offense under TCA S 40-39-202 or any violent Memphis, TN 38103 sexual offense under TCA S 40-39-202 designated as a Phone: 901-222-3258 or 901-222-3200 felony or any violation containing the same elements and c) Bring the completed Certificate of Restoration of Voting designated as a felony in any other state or federal court Rights to the office of the county election commission in and where the victim of such offense was a minor the county in which you reside during business hours. Shelby County Election Commission If you meet the requirements in above, you have two (2) 157 Poplar Ave, Suite 137 options for restoring your voting rights: Memphis, TN 38103 1. Court Order a) Obtain a certified court order restoring your Once you have completed either #1 or #2 above, the county rights in either the county in which you currently reside or administrator of elections shall send a copy of the Certificate the county in which you were convicted. b) Bring the cer- to the TN Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins for verification. tified copy of that original order to the office of the county Upon verification that you do not have any outstanding child election commission in the county in which you reside. support obligations due, you may be registered to vote and sent a voter registration card in the mail. 2. Certificate of Restoration (recommended): a) Access the Certificate of Restoration of Voting Rights on the Tennessee Secretary of State's Website: https:// sos.tn.gov/elections/guides/restoration-of-vot- ing-rights. Have the Certificate of Restoration of Voting Rights completed by: MEMPHIS VOTER GUIDE • 2022 47
VOTING AS A COLLEGE STUDENT Voting as a college student is important and can be confusing. Here's some information on what to do: Registering To Vote Going To The Polls College students should register to vote in the county/state of your ou cannot go vote at your polling place with an out-of-state driver's permanent residence address (the address you consider to be your license. You must bring a federally-issued government ID, such as permanent home while enrolled). Students do not lose their resi- a passport or military ID. A college ID is not an acceptable form dence solely by attending college away from home. If your perma- of identification to vote in Tennessee. If you are a registered voter nent address is out-of-state, you may use your campus address to and do not have a government-issued photo ID, the Department of register to vote in Tennessee. Once you decide to register, you now Safety and Homeland Security will provide you with a photo ID at become a resident of Tennessee. You are allowed to use your cam- no charge. Visit the Department of Safety and Homeland Security's pus address on the voter registration form. No photo identification is website to learn more: bit.ly/teavote required to register to vote as an out-of-state student. If you have taken actions to make your school address your perma- Voting Absentee nent residence address (moving your car registration, driver license, etc.), then you should register in the applicable county/state using IIf a student or their spouse is outside of the county during the time your school address. of the election, they have the option of completing an absentee vote. If you registered to vote by mail, you must vote in person Out-Of-State Students the first time you vote. If this is not your first time voting, you may request an absentee ballot and vote by mail. You can find the If your permanent residence address is out-of-state, you should Absentee Ballot Request Form online at bit.ly/teavote. You must go to an ROTC office or military recruitment office. If you need to request an absentee ballot by April 26 to vote in the May 3 Election. register in person (in order to obtain an absentee ballot), but will not return to your home state before the registration deadline, go to an ROTC office on a college campus or military recruitment office to submit an in-person registration. The ROTC/Recruitment Office will mail your voter registration application to your local county election office marked as 'in-person.' You must be cautious of any college scholarships you receive that requires you to be a resident of your home state. You could lose those scholarships! For this reason, the Election Commission encourages students to register in their home state whenever possible, but it is your choice. POLL WATCH: IF YOU ARE BEING TURNED AWAY Being turned away at the polls CAN and DOES happen. If you are turned away, stay calm, and contact the following IMMEDIATELY before leaving the polling location: Shelby County Election Commission (SCEC) Tennessee Secretary of State 901-222-1200 615-741-7956 • 877-850-959 www.state.tn.us/sos/election https://www.shelbyvote.com ACLU Tennessee Election Protection 615-320-7142 866-OUR-VOTE (687.8683) www.aclu-tn.org/gethelp.htm https://866ourvote.org/ US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Voting Section 800-253-3931 [email protected] MEMPHIS VOTER GUIDE • 2022 48
Election Commission Contact Info Downtown Office 157 Poplar Ave, Suite 137 Questions? Concerns? Address all Memphis, TN 38103 confusion by contacting the Election Commission. Below are their office hours, contact information, Election Operations and locations. 980 Nixon Dr. Office Hours: Memphis, TN 38134 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday – Friday On Election Day the polls are open from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Email: [email protected] Website: www.shelbyvote.com Phone: 901-222-1200 - General Information ABOUT THE EQUITY ALLIANCE The Equity Alliance (TEA) is a Tennessee-based 501(c)(3) nonpartisan grassroots organization led by award-winning Black women. We envision a society where Black communities are thriving and have equitable access to power, resources, and the freedom to choose our quality of life. Our mission is to unapologetically build independent Black political and economic power. We educate, empower, and mobilize Black people to take action and keep our government in check. As the Tennessean's 2020 People of the Year, we are the leading Black-led organization in Tennessee that takes bold action to mobilize the Black electorate to be civically engaged, challenge systemic inequities rooted in white supremacy, and stand up against attacks on our democracy. @theequityalliance @EquityAlliance1 @theequityalliance Contact Us P.O. Box 331821 Nashville, TN 37203 615-492-0061 [email protected] www.theequityalliance.org MEMPHIS VOTER GUIDE • 2022 49
2022 ELECTION YEAR
Search
