Man who got clemency in Virginia still can't vote in Tennessee after high court ruling

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently ruled that the voting rights of a Tennessee man convicted of a crime in Virginia were not automatically restored in Tennessee when Virginia's governor granted him clemency. A voting rights group said the decision was "deeply disappointing."

The case concerns the voting rights of Ernest Falls, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Virginia in 1986. He completed his sentence in 1987 and moved to Tennessee in 2018.

Then-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam granted Falls clemency in early 2020, restoring his full rights of citizenship, including the right to vote. That summer, Falls tried to register to vote in Tennessee but was unable to do so under a Tennessee law that requires those seeking voting rights restoration provide proof they are up to date on all court costs, restitution and child support obligations.

Although he didn't owe those costs in Virginia, he couldn't provide documentation proving that.

Falls and another man in a similar situation, Artie Bledsoe, sued state officials in Davidson County Chancery Court in 2020 in an attempt to vote in local primary elections. Their attorneys argued that the election officials' position contradicted another Tennessee law that disenfranchises people convicted of certain crimes in other states "unless such person has been pardoned by the governor, or the person's full rights of citizenship have otherwise been restored as prescribed by law."

The state argued that both laws in question must be read together, holding that those who have had their voting rights restored elsewhere must meet other requirements set by Tennessee law to have them restored in Tennessee.

A Davidson County judge ruled in favor of the state, writing that "Tennessee law does not require that Tennessee reach the same result" as other states' decisions on voting rights restoration. The appeals court ruled similarly in favor of the state.

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled 3-1 in favor of the state on June 29, noting that the decision applies only to those who establish residency in Tennessee before their voting rights are restored in another state. Justice Sarah Campbell did not participate in the decision.

More: Tennessee Supreme Court hears arguments in felon voter rights restoration case

In her dissent, Justice Sharon Lee wrote that the statute regarding restitution, court costs and child support payments does not apply to Falls because his rights were already fully restored.

"To put it simply, Mr. Falls has no need to double-restore his right of suffrage," Lee wrote.

The Campaign Legal Center, which represented Falls and Bledsoe at the Supreme Court, said in a news release that it was disappointed in the court's decision.

“The Tennessee Supreme Court’s decision flies in the face of more than 40 years of existing law and of common sense,” said Blair Bowie, Director of the center's Restore Your Vote program, in the release.

The center also wrote that Tennessee likely has the highest rate of disenfranchisement in the nation. More than 421,000 Tennesseans are denied the right to vote due to felony convictions, the group wrote.

"Further, the Black community is disproportionately impacted — more than 21% of the Black voting age population is disenfranchised — likely the highest rate of Black felony disenfranchisement in the country," Campaign Legal Center said in an earlier news release on the case.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanMealins.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Supreme Court rules against man seeking to vote after clemency