Dawn Harrington is one of just 35 Tennesseans with a felony conviction who has restored their voting rights since the last presidential election, according to a new national report from the Sentencing Project.
Tennessee has one of the strictest policies of all US states for formerly incarcerated people who want to vote. The state permanently bars people with felony convictions from voting unless they meet a rigorous set of standards and get the court that sentenced them to sign off.
Recently, the state got even stricter, making the process discretionary — even if someone follows all of these steps, they can still be denied.
Activists have sued Tennessee in federal court to get these rules overturned. Today, This is Nashville talks with a lawyer and an advocate who are part of this lawsuit, and with people who’ve tried to restore their right to vote.
Guests:
- Dawn Harrington, executive director, Free Hearts
- Blair Bowie, attorney, Campaign Legal Center and director, Restore your Vote
- Rahim Buford, founder, Unheard Voices Outreach
This episode was produced by Char Daston.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM