Criminal Procedure - As introduced, allows certain persons deprived of the right of suffrage to apply for a voter registration card and have the right of suffrage provisionally restored if the person enters into a payment plan to become current on all child support obligations. - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 29.

HB 1053 would allow people in Tennessee who lost voting rights due to unpaid child support to temporarily regain voting rights by entering a payment plan for outstanding child support debts. It replaces a rule requiring full payment of all child support with a new option for provisional voting rights restoration through a court-approved payment plan. If someone fails to follow the payment plan, a court must provide legal counsel and allow them to present evidence of financial hardship before revoking voting rights. The law takes effect July 1, 2025, applying to new voter registration applications after that date.