Donald Trump can appear on Tennessee election ballots in November after the Tennessee Attorney General refused to issue an opinion on the matter last week.
Rep. Vincent Dixie (D-Nashville) requested the opinion from Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti, a Republican, earlier this month. Dixie pointed to a Tennessee law that says anyone convicted of an “infamous crime” is “disqualified from qualifying for, seeking election to or holding a public office in this state.”
Dixie said the law is meant “to protect the public from individuals who refuse to adhere to the laws they are meant to uphold.” He then pointed to Trump’s convictions on 34 felony counts of election interference last week.
Skrmetti’s office said it could only render opinions to officials “in the discharge of their official duties.” The letter added emphasis to the words “in the discharge of their official duties” but did not offer further details.
“Your letter also rests on an incorrect premise that (the state law’s) reference to ‘a public office in this state’ somehow includes the U.S. President,” reads the letter from Tennessee solicitor General Matt Rice. “The U.S. Presidency is not a public office in Tennessee. And any State effort to add new qualifications for the U.S. President would raise serious constitutional questions.”
Dixie said he was “disappointed” but “not surprised” by the response from the AG’s office.
“This just highlights the broken criminal justice system in this country,” Dixie said in a statement. “There is no rational explanation for a way that a person can possibly be elected [President of the United States] by this state, and if that same person lived in Tennessee, they wouldn’t even be able to cast a ballot and vote. How does that make sense?”
Dixie’s request came after Trump was convicted in New York last month on 34 felony counts. Trump was convicted of all counts as part of a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star who alleged she had sex with him.
Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office told Tennessee Lookout earlier this month that Trump will be on Tennessee’s election ballot.