NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee voters will decide three proposed constitutional amendments on the Nov. 3 statewide ballot, covering pretrial bail, a ban on state property taxes and expanded rights for crime victims.
The Secretary of State says the measures appear directly after the candidates for governor. Passage requires both more yes votes than no votes and yes votes totaling more than half of all votes cast in the governor race.
Amendment 1 would change Article I, Section 15 to let courts hold a defendant without bail before trial when the person is accused of a death-penalty offense, an act of terrorism, second-degree murder, aggravated rape of a child, aggravated rape, grave torture, or any crime that carries an eighty-five percent service requirement. Judges would have to put reasons for granting or denying bail on the record in those cases.
Amendment 2 would amend Article II, Section 28 to prohibit the Legislature from imposing a state property tax on real, personal or mixed property.
Amendment 3 would rewrite Article I, Section 35 to clarify and expand crime-victims rights, including notice and the right to participate in the parole process, protection from harassment and intimidation, restitution, notice of the minimum sentence and scheduled release date, and consideration of victim and public safety before release decisions.
As of Oct. 6, all three measures were certified for the Nov. 3 election. The Legislature referred them during the 2025 session after approving each in two successive General Assemblies. The victims-rights amendment is described as the first Marsy’s Law-style measure adopted in the country since 2020.
