Tenn. Const. art. I, § 5 (Elections and Suffrage)

This section of the state constitution provides that:

The elections shall be free and equal, and the right of suffrage, as hereinafter declared, shall never be denied to any person entitled thereto, except upon conviction of a jury of some infamous crime, previously ascertained and declared by law, and judgment thereon by court of competent jurisdiction.

We oppose the underlined portion of this provision, and support proposed amendments to it, because it denies the right of political participation to certain citizens—even those who have fully paid a debt to society.