Statewide ballot measure · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Constitutional Amendment #1: Bail
Attorney General's summary: This amendment changes Article I, section 15 of the Tennessee Constitution by allowing a court to hold a defendant without bail before trial when that defendant is accused of: an offense punishable by the death penalty, 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 eighty-five percent of their sentence. This amendment requires courts to state on the record the reasons for their decision to grant or deny bail in those cases.
What a vote means
- A yes vote
- Official explanation: A “yes” vote is a vote to amend the Constitution and adopt the language in the proposed amendment. To pass, an amendment needs more yes votes than no votes, and its yes votes must be more than half of all votes cast in the governor's race (Tennessee Secretary of State).
- A no vote
- Official explanation: A “no” vote is a vote to keep the current language in the Constitution unchanged.
Sources
Measure summary
- 2026 Proposed Constitutional Amendments (ballot questions and Attorney General summaries) (Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections, Public record)
What's included: U.S. Senate and House, statewide offices, state legislative races (shown in the app once you enter your address) and statewide ballot measures.
Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: tnmap.tn.gov.
Candidate lists as of Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
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