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Bill

HB 1921

Election Laws - As introduced, authorizes senators who have served for at least eight consecutive years and representatives who have served for at least 10 consecutive years to use signatures of registered voters outside of such senator's or representative's district for purposes of completing a nominating petition. - Amends TCA Title 2.

114th Regular Session (2025-2026) Introduced by Larry Miller

Tennessee bill allows incumbent state legislators with 8-10+ years of service to collect nominating petition signatures statewide rather than only within their districts.

Placed on s/c cal Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee for 3/17/2026
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 1921

Legislative bill overview

HB 1921 modifies Tennessee election law to allow long-serving state legislators—senators with 8+ consecutive years and representatives with 10+ consecutive years of service—to gather voter signatures for nominating petitions from outside their own districts. Currently, candidates typically must collect signatures only from registered voters within their district boundaries.

Why is this important

This change directly affects ballot access for incumbent legislators seeking re-election or higher office. It reduces geographic constraints on signature collection, potentially making it easier for established politicians with longer tenure to qualify for the ballot while creating different rules for incumbent versus non-incumbent candidates or freshmen legislators.

Potential points of contention

  • Ballot access equity: Critics may argue this creates a two-tiered system where long-serving incumbents have easier ballot access than challengers or newer legislators, potentially entrenching existing power structures
  • Voter representation concerns: Opponents could contend that allowing out-of-district signatures weakens the connection between elected officials and their actual constituents who elected them
  • Fairness to primary challengers: Incumbent protection critics may view this as unfairly advantaging sitting legislators over primary challengers competing within district boundaries

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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