Tennessee Slavery Vote Results Leave Internet Aghast

Tennessee voted to ban slavery officially as a criminal punishment in Tuesday's midterm elections, but the result left social media aghast.

Voters in the ruby-red state overwhelmingly backed a proposed amendment that would amend the state's constitution to remove language permitting slavery or involuntary servitude as a punishment for a crime, curtailing the use of prison labor.

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According to results from the Secretary of State's office, the amendment had more than 1.2 million "yes" votes, likely enough to secure passage. Just under four-fifths of voters said yes to the amendment, while just over 20 percent said no.

"Last night was a historic night in Tennessee. For the first time since 1870, our constitution no longer protects the institution of slavery," Kathy Chambers, campaign director of the Yes on 3 campaign, told Newsweek.

"A bipartisan effort years in the making, we could not be more proud of the citizens for agreeing that slavery has no place in our state."

"A bipartisan effort years in the making, we could not be more proud of the citizens for agreeing that slavery has no place in our state." The campaign has been contacted for further comment.

However, some on social media were stunned that more than 300,000 voters said "no" to the proposed amendment.

"The fact that 20 percent of Tennessee thinks slavery should still be legal is incredibly disheartening," sports anchor Jeff Roberts wrote on Twitter.

Author Quenton Albertie added: "316K people in Tennessee wanted slavery. Y'all b safe."

Trey Graham wrote: "The truly mind-boggling thing about this headline is in the story behind it: 20 percent of Tennessee voters chose to KEEP slavery tonight."

"I am looking at these people in the South who couldn't part with slavery until 2022 with deep-rooted hatred. What year is this?" another Twitter user wrote.

As some tweeted their astonishment that slavery was on the ballot in 2022, others wrote that, while the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery, it still allows it as a punishment for crime.

The vote in Tennessee is part of a national effort to amend the 13th Amendment's exception that has long permitted forced labor by people convicted of certain crimes.

"Yeah, slavery is actually explicitly legal in America for convicts. There's a specific carve out in the 13th Amendment to allow prisoners to be used as slaves," tweeted Shehan Jeyarajah. "Banning slavery as a punishment is a huge deal and the right thing to do."

Nearly 20 states have constitutions that include language permitting slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishments. Colorado was the first to remove the language by ballot measure in 2018, followed by Nebraska and Utah in 2020.

Chambers noted that Tennessee "is a former slave state, the state where the [Ku Klux Klan was founded, and as red of a state as you'll find yet we got over 60 percent yes votes in all 95 counties, even rural Republican counties."

Colorado "passed this amendment in 2018 on their second attempt with 65 percent yes, 35 percent no. Utah passed a similar amendment in 2020 with 80 percent yes, 20 percent no. Nebraska passed a similar amendment in 2020 with 68 percent yes, 32 percent no," she added. "Essentially, we tied Utah's results. That's pretty amazing given our history!"

On Tuesday, voters in Alabama, Tennessee and Vermont approved measures removing those loopholes. The vote remained too close to call in Oregon on Wednesday morning, but voters in Louisiana rejected a ballot question that asked if they supported a constitutional amendment to prohibit the use of involuntary servitude in the criminal justice system.

"So a lot of people are making fun of the slavery ballots going around, but maybe don't know that slavery is still permitted via the 13th Amendment of the Constitution," tweeted Anthony Nash.

"A lot of these measures look to stop that when it comes to how prisons treat prison labor."

Update 11/9/22, 11:12 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional comment from Kathy Chambers and a new photo.

Update 11/9/22, 9:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a comment from Kathy Chambers.