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House concurs in constitutional amendment to specify U.S. citizenship for voting
Summary
The House concurred in SJR 624, a proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution that would expressly require U.S. citizenship for voting in state, county and municipal elections; sponsors said the change removes ambiguity, while opponents described the language as redundant.
The Tennessee House on April 21 concurred in Senate Joint Resolution 624, a proposed amendment to Article 4, Section 1 of the state constitution that would explicitly provide that "no person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be entitled to vote in any election held in this state." Chairman Farmer read the resolution on the floor and moved concurrence; the motion carried by recorded vote.
Sponsors framed the proposal as a clarification to remove possible interpretive ambiguity in constitutional language; several members argued the existing text already prescribes citizen-only suffrage. Representatives raised procedural and textual questions — for example whether certain residual language from older provisions (including a clause referring to "male citizens" in the historical text) should be updated — but the House adopted concurrence for the proposal, which will proceed to publication and referral to the next General Assembly under the constitution's amendment process.
What happens next: Constitutional amendments require action by two successive legislatures and then voter approval; the resolution was referred to the 115th General Assembly as required by Article XI, Section 3.
