Three proposed amendments to the Tennessee Constitution appear on the ballot in November’s general election. The Constitution sets the rules state and local government must follow, so its amendments apply to everyone in Tennessee. The proposed amendments cover bail, property taxes, and the rights of crime victims and those accused of certain crimes.
A proposed amendment needs more yes votes than no votes and must clear a second, higher bar: it must receive yes votes equal to more than half of all votes cast in the governor’s race. If you vote for governor and skip the amendment questions, your ballot still counts toward the total the amendment must clear. Ballot questions typically appear at the end of the ballot. Keep going to the end so your vote on the amendments is counted.
Amendment 1: Bail
The ACLU of Tennessee opposes Amendment 1.
The presumption of innocence is one of the most important protections in our legal system. It means the government must prove someone committed a crime before taking away their freedom as punishment. Until then, a person is accused — not convicted. This principle protects people from losing their liberty based only on an accusation, protects families from unnecessary separation, and ensures that the government bears the burden of proving guilt.
For more than 230 years, Tennessee’s Constitution has recognized that principle. Since Tennessee became a state in 1796, its Constitution has generally protected the right of people accused of crimes to seek release on bail while their cases are pending. The basic rule is that people may be released on bail unless they are charged with a capital offense, meaning a crime punishable by death, and the evidence against them is especially strong. Bail does not decide guilt or innocence. It helps ensure people return to court while allowing them to remain with family, keep a job, and work with a lawyer before trial.
Tennessee judges already have tools to protect public safety and ensure people return to court. They can impose conditions such as no-contact orders, electronic monitoring, and drug or alcohol monitoring. They can set bail and other restrictions to address safety and flight concerns. And if a person violates release conditions or commits a new offense while on release, a court can revoke bail after a hearing.
Amendment 1 would greatly expand the charges for which a judge could deny bail before trial. It would add several named offenses and a broader category defined by Tennessee’s sentencing laws. The ballot will not provide voters with a complete list of every charge affected. The amendment would give the government more power to jail people accused of certain crimes who have not been convicted.
Pretrial detention can have lasting consequences. Even a short time in jail can cost someone a job, housing, family stability, and the ability to help prepare a defense.
Expanding pretrial detention would also put additional pressure on local jails and taxpayers. In July 2026, the Tennessee Department of Correction reported that 41 local facilities were operating at 90% of capacity or higher. Tennessee already spends substantial public funds on incarceration: TDOC reported $161.7 million in county and local-jail reimbursements for housing convicted felons in fiscal year 2024–25. County jail crowding also increases operational and healthcare pressures on local governments.
Amendment 2: State Property Tax
The ACLU of Tennessee does not have a position on Amendment 2.
Tennessee collected a state property tax until 1949, when the legislature repealed it. The General Assembly still holds the power to bring one back. Amendment 2 would remove that power by writing a ban on state property taxes into the Constitution.
County and city property taxes, which fund local services including schools, operate separately and are not on the ballot. If it passes, reversing the ban would require another constitutional amendment, which means another statewide vote.
Amendment 3: Crime Victims' Rights (Marsy's Law)
The ACLU of Tennessee opposes Amendment 3.
Tennessee should support people harmed by crime, but it should not do so by weakening the constitutional rights that protect every one of us from unfair treatment by the government.
Tennessee’s Constitution already gives crime victims important rights. These include the right to receive information about a case, attend court proceedings, speak at key points in a case, seek restitution from the person who caused harm, and be protected from harassment or threats. Amendment 3 would erase the current constitutional provision and replace it with a longer list of thirteen rights, which a person identified as a victim could ask a court to enforce. Amendment 3 is part of “Marsy's Law,” a national campaign to write a specific list of crime victims’ rights into state constitutions.
Marsy’s Law is often described as giving victims “equal rights” with people accused of crimes. But that comparison is misleading. A person accused of a crime has constitutional rights because the government has the immense power to arrest, jail, prosecute, and punish. Those rights are not special favors. They are limits on government power that protect all of us, because any person can be wrongly accused.
The presumption of innocence is one of those basic protections. It means the government must prove a person guilty through a fair process before taking away that person’s freedom. Giving new constitutional rights to someone other than the accused at every stage of a criminal case can push the system toward treating an accusation as though it were already proven. That danger is especially serious in juvenile cases, where the person accused is a child.
Tennessee does not have to choose between supporting victims and protecting constitutional rights. The state can invest in victim services, make sure people know the rights they already have, and improve access to those protections. But it should not change the Constitution in a way that puts the presumption of innocence and fair treatment at risk.
This page is funded by the ACLU of Tennessee, a 501(c)(4) organization.
