Eleven people have been arrested in Sumner County after being charged with a crime for voting illegally after being convicted of a felony.
The 11 people were charged with illegal registration and making false notes on a government form.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation looked into 15 convicted criminals who were suspected of voting illegally in Sumner County between 2020 and 2022. This led to the charges. It was found that four of the people were dead.
Gregory Blackmon from Clarksville, Antione Bridges from Cottontown, Bradley Crowell from Hendersonville, Jerry Dodd from Portland, Terry Ewin from Gallatin, Shannon Holt Sr. from Gallatin, James McGee from Hendersonville, Rita Poindexter from Gallatin, Larry Russell Sr. from Gallatin, Ladasha Warfield from Gallatin, and Bobby Williams from Portland were all released on $5,000 bond.
In Tennessee, people who have been convicted of a felony lose their right to vote. If they meet the requirements, they must ask to get their right to vote back. That goes for all crimes committed after May 17, 1981, and all notorious felonies committed before January 15, 1973.
To do that, you need to get a pardon or have the rights returned by a court and fill out a Certificate for Voting Rights Restoration.
According to Tennessee Lookout, only about 1% of people who had felony charges have gotten their rights back since 2013. That’s about 3,350 people.
Lookout wrote that almost 10% of people who can vote in Tennessee have felony records and can’t vote. Among Black Tennesseans, this number rises to nearly 20%.
