A look at November’s election ballot
This November voters across the country will head to the polls to practice their constitutional right and pull the lever. As the leader in grassroots outreach, Farm Bureau’s public policy division wants to give you an inside look of what will be on your ballot.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS:
Four proposed constitutional amendments will be up for consideration in November. Proposed constitutional amendments are presented as yes or no questions. A “yes” vote is a vote to amend the Constitution and adopt the proposed language in the amendment. A “no” vote is a vote not to amend the Constitution and keep the current language in the Constitution unchanged. For an amendment to become part of Tennessee’s Constitution, the amendment must receive more yes votes than no votes, and the number of yes votes must be a majority of the total votes tallied in the gubernatorial election.
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- Amendment #1: Proposed addition to Article XI of the Tennessee Constitution which would add language stating “it is unlawful for any person, corporation, association, or this state or its political subdivisions to deny or attempt to deny employment to any person by reason of the person’s membership in, affiliation with, resignation from, or refusal to join or affiliate with any labor union or employee organization.” In short, this amendment would codify Tennessee’s Right to Work status meaning no employer can force an employee to join a union or discriminate an employee based on their union membership. Farm Bureau policy supports this initiative to vote Yes on 1. For more information, please visit tnright2work.com.
- Amendment #2: Amendment to Article III Section 12 would add a process for the temporary exercise of the powers and duties of the governor by the speaker of the senate or speaker of the house (if no speaker of the senate is in office) when the governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the governor.
- Amendment #3: Amendment three would change the current language in Article I Section 33 of the Tennessee Constitution which says slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a person who has been duly convicted of crime, are forever prohibited in this state. The former language would be replaced with “Slavery and involuntary servitude are forever prohibited. Nothing in this section shall prohibit an inmate from working when the inmate has been duly convicted of a crime.”
- Amendment #4: The final amendment up for consideration would delete Article IX, Section I which prohibits ministers of gospel and priests of any denomination from holding a seat in either house of the legislature. For more information on the 2022 Proposed Constitutional Amendments, please visit sos.tn.gov/ amendments.
GUBERNATORIAL, CONGRESSIONAL AND 113TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS:
Aside from Constitutional Amendments, Tennesseans will have elections for governor and congress this November. Incumbent Republican Governor Bill Lee will face Democrat Dr. Jason Martin to determine who will serve the four-year term.
Across the state, members of Tennessee’s congressional body are also up for re-election. One Middle Tennessee district will see major changes. Congressional District 5 underwent major modifications during this year’s redistricting process, and with longtime Rep. Jim Cooper’s announcement of retirement, we will be welcoming a new member into Tennessee’s 11-member congressional delegation.
Redistricting brought changes statewide and voters should be prepared for changes in their state senate and state house members as well. We encourage all to do their research before heading to the polls this fall. For more information on this year’s election and to view a comprehensive list of candidates, check out the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website at sos.tn.gov/elections/candidate-lists.
2023 RESOLUTIONS PROCESS UNDERWAY:
Earlier this year, volunteer leaders from all 95 counties began the 2023 resolutions process, attending twelve policy development meetings from Brownsville to Jonesborough. These meetings were the first step of many towards the final meeting taking place this December at state convention. In a few days, the 2023 resolutions committee will gather in Columbia to review the current resolutions language and make recommendations based upon changes in the industry and update outdated language and terminology.
Issues discussed at policy development meetings ranged from cryptocurrency to farmland loss, and each sector of the industry was represented in conversation. This process is crucially important to Farm Bureau’s mission of developing, fostering, promoting and protecting programs for the general welfare, including economic, social, educational and political well-being of the farm people of the great state of Tennessee.
