Felons must get gun rights back if they want voting rights restored, Tennessee officials say

By JONATHAN MATTISE
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s elections office has confirmed that the state’s toughened voting rights restoration policy requires people convicted of a felony to get their gun rights restored before they can become eligible to cast a ballot again. The state’s elections coordinator revealed the decision to The Associated Press on Tuesday. In July, the elections office began requiring all convicted felons to either receive a pardon or have their full citizenship rights restored by a judge before they could apply to have their voting rights reinstated. Just one person has been approved since the new policy was implemented. Last month, Tennessee officials expressed uncertainty about whether they should give back the vote to people who hadn’t gotten their gun rights restored.