A Nashville judge ruled Monday that convicted felons do not need to have the right to own a gun before regaining their right to vote.
The ruling, issued just hours before the momentous local, state and presidential Election Day, contradicts the stance of Tennessee’s highest-ranking elections officials, which came to light in early 2024 .
A heading in the opinion penned by Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton and published Monday states, “A lifetime firearms prohibition does not preclude the restoration of one’s full citizenship rights under current law.”
Tennessee law states that a convicted felon must regain one’s full citizenship rights in order to regain the right to vote. In January, Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins told The Tennessean that those full citizenship rights included the right to own a gun.
The ruling does not seem likely to have a widespread effect on voter eligibility on Tuesday because Tennessee does not offer same-day voter registration.
Dalton’s ruling restores full citizenship rights for four people convicted of felonies who had petitioned the court in August, while still carving out that they cannot legally possess a firearm.