Felons Cannot Vote if they Have Outstanding Child Support Warrants in TN

A Tennessee law was upheld recently in a federal appeals court that prohibits felons from voting if they have any outstanding child support payments. As one of several cases around the country that is trying to loosen voting restrictions for convicted felons, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals played its role in keeping those restrictions tight.

However, one person on the panel, Judge Karen Nelson Moore, wrote a 38-page dissent stating that "Tennessee has no rational basis for denying voting rights to only those felons with outstanding financial obligations, despite their inability to pay." In short, Moore believes that being poor should not restrain someone from their right to vote even if they are a convicted felon.

Another similar case in Milwaukee has created a Voting Rights Act challenge to Wisconsin's felon disenfranchisement law, wherein two men, still on probation, voted in the 2008 elections.

Worried that your legal rights are not being protected? Work with a family law attorney to learn more about child support payments and more.