Editor’s note: This story is free to all readers as a public service from The Daily Memphian.

When voters enter the voting booth for the upcoming election, confusion will start at the top of the ballot as early voting begins Wednesday, Oct. 14, in Shelby County.

That’s where voters will see three amendments to the Tennessee Constitution. At the end of the ballot are three more amendments to the City of Memphis charter.

And in between are two unique races for the Tennessee state House.

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Here’s a rundown of each voting-booth surprise.

Tennessee Constitutional amendments

Amendments to the Tennessee Constitution must pass twice in the Tennessee General Assembly before they go on the statewide ballot.

Tennessee requires constitutional amendments to be paired with the governor’s race. The amendments pass if more people vote yes than no and if yes votes exceed half of all votes cast for governor. 

Expansion of no-bail offenses

The first of the three amendments allows a court to hold someone without bail when they are accused of a crime that carries the death penalty as well as “an act of terrorism, second degree murder, aggravated rape of a child, aggravated rape, grave torture or any crime for which a convicted person would be required to serve at least 85% of their sentence.”

The state legislature passed a “truth in sentencing” law in 2022, setting the stage for the constitutional amendment.

It required those sentenced for the crimes in the act — which includes a long list of violent crimes including aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, carjacking and repeated drug crimes — to get no parole or early release and to serve at least 85% of their sentences.

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By the state constitution currently, the only criminal charges that can lead to a decision to set no bail are charges that carry the death penalty.

If the amendment is approved, it would allow judges to hold defendants without bail on charges covered by the truth-in-sentencing law.

The legislature followed the truth-in-sentencing law with more new laws that said only elected judges and not appointed judicial commissioners could set bail for class A or B felonies, including aggravated assault and felony domestic assault. It also requires higher bail if a defendant released on bail commits another crime while out.

No state property tax

This may be the simplest of the amendments — city or state — on the Nov. 3 ballot. It forbids the state from imposing a state property tax “on real, personal or mixed property.”

While local governments, including Shelby County and Memphis, as well as the six suburban cities and towns, each have local property tax rates, the state does not impose a property tax on top of that.

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If approved, this amendment would prevent an option state leaders have not used since the Tennessee General Assembly repealed the state property tax in 1949.

Victim rights

This amendment restates, specifies and expands the rights crime victims and their families have.

The rights in the amendment are:

1. Notice of all public criminal and juvenile proceedings of the accused, if they request it.
2. To be present at those proceedings if they choose.
3. To be heard if they wish at hearings involving possible release, plea deals, sentencing and parole, as well as any proceeding “when relevant during which a right of the victim is implicated.”
4. To be heard at and informed of parole hearings or processes and participate in them, including providing information to parole authorities before they make a decision on release, and to be notified, if requested, of the parole or other release date.
5. To be free of “harassment, intimidation and abuse throughout the criminal justice system, including reasonable protection” from the accused or anyone acting on behalf of the defendant.
6. “Reasonable notice” of the release, transfer or escape of a defendant or convict.
7. “Full and timely restitution” from the offender.
8. A speedy trial and resolution of the case after conviction and sentencing.
9. To know the minimum sentence the offender will serve and the scheduled release date.
10. To have the safety of the victim, their families and the general public considered before any decision is made about parole or any release.
11. To confer, upon request, with the prosecution while the case is in court.
12. To be fully informed of all the rights of a crime victim.

The rest of the amendment text on the ballot makes clear that victims are not parties to a criminal case but have standing and due process rights.

It also says victim rights cannot be a legal basis for vacating a criminal conviction and cannot restrict the District Attorney General's powers or the court's authority.

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The rights also would not create a “cause of action” or claim for damages against the state.

Find the full text of the referendums — both state and city — on this sample ballot from the Shelby County Election Commission.

City charter amendments

The Memphis City Council has put three proposed amendments to the city charter on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Library workers amendment

This amendment would make Memphis Public Libraries system employees part of the city’s civil service system.

Currently, library employees are appointees of the Mayor of Memphis. This would change that.

Mayoral appointees serve at the mayor's will. The mayor can dismiss them at any time. However, the amendment exempts library officers.

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Civil service status means dismissed workers can appeal that and other city decisions.

Some library workers seeking the status change have also complained that workers doing the same job get different pay because of their appointed status.

Lobbyist registration and disclosure

This amendment would require the Memphis City Council to create and approve an ordinance establishing a system that requires lobbyists appearing before the council and interacting with the council to register with the city and disclose who they are working for.

City Councilman Chase Carlisle unsuccessfully sought lobbyist disclosures in an ordinance he introduced during his first council term, which started in 2020.

It was a reaction to the flood of lobbyists at City Hall early in his term who were working for various sides in the discussion about Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division possibly dropping the Tennessee Valley Authority as the utility’s electric power provider.

Carlisle said it was hard to tell who was lobbying and who was actually a concerned or interested citizen.

Civil service appeals

If approved, the mayor and council would develop “uniform and comprehensive administrative procedures” for appeals of civil service board decisions about employees and their status as city employees.

Early discussion of this amendment included hiring trained arbitrators to resolve differences if necessary. Like the lobbyist amendment, the amendment leaves the details to the mayor and council.

State House District 84

Former Democratic state Rep. Joe Towns resigned from his District 84 seat after being elected in August and starting Sept. 1 as Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk.

He also ended his bid for reelection to the state House, even though he won that primary on the same ballot he won the general election to the clerk’s seat.

A single member of the Shelby County Democratic Party’s executive committee — the only executive committee member who lives in District 84 — chose Matthew Szalaj as the Democratic nominee for the state House seat.

There are no Republican or independent candidates in the general election race.

State House District 93

Voters in District 93 will see no candidates on their ballots.

The unusual situation began when incumbent Democrat G.A. Hardaway missed the filing deadline to get on the ballot for the August primaries. Hardaway then died.

The County Commission appointed his son T.J. Hardaway to fill the remaining months of his father’s two-year term.

Five candidates are seeking the seat as write-in candidates, meaning voters must actually write in their name. Only those five filed formal notice with the Shelby County Election Commission and will have their votes counted and certified.

John Bradley

Bradley is an aide to former Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, who finished third in the May Democratic primary for Shelby County Commission District 10.

Mitchell Morrison

Morrison is an independent candidate who ran unsuccessfully for state Senate District 30 in 2024.

Brandon Washington

Washington is a youth specialist with the City of Memphis who finished fifth in the May Democratic primary for County Commission District 10.

Tommy Brewington and Calvin Lacy are also formal write-in candidates.