By J. Holly McCall | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, Lookout readers.
Our lead story today comes from Senior Reporter Sam Stockard, who writes about the three amendments to the Tennessee Constitution on the ballot in November.
Changes to the state constitution used to be rare, and the 1870 version went without amending until 1953, earning it a record as the oldest unamended state constitution.
The last time the constitution was amended was in 2022, when voters approved four, including one that removed slavery as a punishment for crime.
The measures fall low on the ballot, below the top-ticket races like governor and U.S. Senator: we think it’s important Tennesseans understand what they will be voting on.
THE LOOKOUT’S TOP STORY
Tennessee voters will have three constitutional amendments on the November 2026 ballots. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Sam Stockard
When Tennessee voters go to the polls in November, they’ll see three constitutional amendment questions on the ballot, two of them dealing with crime and punishment and the other with banning a state property tax.
NEWS AND NOTES
Trump administration dumps $1.77B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund | Jennifer Shutt and Ariana Figueroa, States Newsroom
Dems spotlight anti-weaponization fund as US Senate GOP struggles to pass immigration bill | Ashley Murray, States Newsroom
Fisk Data Center Plans Spark Debate in North Nashville | Sarah Grace Taylor, Nashville Banner
FEATURED ON THE LOOKOUT
A University of Utah clinic in Salt Lake City displays a sign warning about measles last year. Utah is among the states that already has more measles cases in 2026 than in all of 2025, when cases reached the highest annual level since 1991. (Photo by McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch)
by Tim Henderson, Stateline
Vaccine hesitancy fed by misinformation is causing new surges of measles and whooping cough, while COVID-19 hotspots persist in some states and a new threat looms from an Ebola outbreak in central Africa.
Commentary
John Cole’s Tennessee:
John Cole’s Tennessee: Hare-brained immigration chase. The Trump administration’s pursuit of Kilmar Abrego Garcia has taken on the aspects of a Looney Tunes coyote-and-roadrunner pursuit.
ICYMI
Volunteer watchers detail harassment, surveillance and pushback from Memphis Safe Task Force | Anita Wadhwani and Cassandra Stephenson
Tennessee lawmakers push ban on state property tax | Sam Stockard
TN unemployment low, but sheds jobs for the 5th month in a row | Adam Friedman
FEMA payouts for Tennesseans affected by winter ice storm surpass $36 million | Cassandra Stephenson
COMMENTARY
Tennessee Realtors say funds from political action committee attacks communities, violates ethics | Rodney Tate, Jr. and Nathan Weinberg
Editor’s notebook: The silence of Tennessee’s ‘statesmen’ | J. Holly McCall
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