Removed the exception, 2022
Tennessee.
Constitutional Amendment 3 (Senate Joint Resolution 80), November 8, 2022. Tennessee is in the enforcement phase.
Documents gathered and read September 28, 2026. Tracker entry · Where we stand
The constitution today Source text
Tennessee Constitution, Article I, Section 33.
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.
What the voters were asked Source text
Constitutional Amendment 3 (Senate Joint Resolution 80), November 8, 2022.
The question on the ballot.
Shall Article I, Section 33 of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by deleting the section and substituting instead the following? Section 33. 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.
Source: Question as it appeared on the ballot, published by the Wilson County Election Commission.
The vote Source text
As certified.
| Yes | 1,294,296 |
|---|---|
| No | 333,071 |
| Votes cast for governor, the constitutional threshold | 1,739,882 |
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State, certified results, November 8, 2022. The document prints no percentages.
Enforcement
After the vote.
The Research Library holds no ruling under this text yet.
Documents
The record, to download.
- Ballot question, summary, and Senate Joint Resolution 80 (PDF)
- Certified results, constitutional amendments (PDF)
- Certified results, governor (PDF)
- Question as it appeared on the ballot, published by the Wilson County Election Commission, official copy
- The ballot question copy is a county election commission's publication of the statewide question. The Secretary of State's page was not reachable when this was gathered.
- Tennessee requires a majority of the votes cast for governor, not only a majority on the question.
- Official arguments for and against have not yet been gathered for this page.
Cite this page. Abolish Slavery National Network, “Tennessee: The Punishment Exception, Removed,” https://abolishslavery.us/state-tn.html.