By Anoa Changa ·December 4, 2020December 4, 2020
The Tennessee Conference of the NAACP and five residents are fighting to restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated folks across the state. A lawsuit filed Thursday alleges Tennessee’s process has systematically failed formerly incarcerated people and a process riddled with inconsistencies in administration.
“One in five Black people in Tennessee can’t vote because of past convictions—the second highest rate of Black disenfranchisement in the country—and one in ten Latinos, the highest rate of Latino disenfranchisement in the country,” Gloria Sweet-Love, President of the Tennessee Conference of the NAACP, said in a statement.
Sweet-Love highlighted the work done by the legislature to create opportunities for formerly incarcerated people to restore their rights. She said that state officials failed to develop a system that works for everyone.
Tennessee based advocacy organization Free Hearts represents the parties along with Campaign Legal Services, Equal Justice Under the Law, and Baker Donelson.
“We’ve seen over and over again that people who meet the eligibility criteria are regularly denied their…
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