Voting in Tennessee

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Voter ID laws
Absentee/mail-in voting
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Voting policies are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which American citizens cast their ballots in their individual states.

THE BASICS

Tennessee permits online voter registration.

Tennessee also permits no-excuse early voting and absentee voting. If voting with an absentee ballot, a voter must meet the requirements set forth by the state.

Tennessee voters must provide government-issued photo ID at the polls.

See state election laws

This page includes the following:

• Voter registration details, including methods of registering and requirements
• Details on voting in elections, including identification requirements, poll times, and primary election type
• Absentee/mail-in voting rules
• Early voting rules
• Convicted felons' voting rights
• Election administration costs report
• Election agencies list
• Election policy ballot measures list
• Election policy legislation list

See Election governance in Tennessee for more detailed information about election and voting policy in the state, including voter list maintenance policies, provisional ballot rules, and post-election auditing practices.

Voter registration

To register to vote in Tennessee, an applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Tennessee, and at least 18 years old by the day of the next election.

Prospective voters can register online, by mailing a voter registration application to the county election commission, or in person at a variety of locations including the county clerk’s office, the county election commission office, public libraries, and numerous state agencies. Registration must be completed 30 days before an election.

Automatic registration

Tennessee does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Tennessee has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Tennessee does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Tennessee, you must be a resident of the state.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Tennessee does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. Section 2-2-141 of the Tennessee Code states the following:

“	‘’’2-2-141. Proof of citizenship for registering to vote.’’’ (a) The coordinator of elections shall compare the statewide voter registration database with the department of safety database to ensure non-United States citizens are not registered to vote in this state. The coordinator of elections is authorized to compare the statewide voter registration database with relevant federal and state agencies and county records for the same purpose. If evidence exists that a particular registered voter is not a citizen of the United States, the coordinator of elections shall notify the county election commission where the person registered to vote that the registered voter may not be a citizen of the United States. (b) After receiving such notice, the county election commission shall send a notice to the registered voter inquiring whether the individual is eligible to be registered to vote. Any registered voter who receives the notice shall, within thirty (30) days of the receipt of such notice, provide proof of citizenship to the county election commission.	”
—Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-2-141

Verifying your registration

The Tennessee Secretary of State’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voting in elections

File:Barack Obama votes in the 2012 election.jpg

President Barack Obama and others casting their ballots in 2012

Voter identification

See also: Voter identification laws by state

Tennessee requires voters to present photo identification while voting.

Voters can present the following forms of identification:

• Tennessee driver’s license with photo
• United States passport
• Photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security
• Photo ID issued by the federal or Tennessee state government
• United States Military photo ID
• Tennessee handgun carry permit with photo

The following voters are exempt from the photo ID requirements:

• Voters who vote absentee by mail
• Voters who are residents of a licensed nursing home or assisted living center and who vote at the facility
• Voters who are hospitalized
• Voters with a religious objection to being photographed
• Voters who are indigent and unable to obtain a photo ID without paying a fee

Voters can obtain a free photo ID from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security at any participating driver service center. In order to receive an ID, a voter must bring proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate) and two proofs of Tennessee residency (such as a voter registration card, a utility bill, vehicle registration or title, or bank statement). Visit the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security's Voter Photo ID page for more information.

Background

On September 26, 2012, a judge ruled that Tennessee's voter ID law did not violate the state constitution. On October 25, 2012, the Court of Appeals also upheld Tennessee's voter ID law, though the court did issue an order requiring state officials to accept Memphis library cards as government-issued photo identification. State officials announced plans to appeal this part of the ruling, arguing that library IDs were not valid because they were not issued by the state government. On February 6, 2013, the Tennessee Supreme Court was asked to decide whether the state’s voter ID law deprived citizens of the right to vote, whether safeguards should be implemented to prevent election fraud, and whether a city-issued photo library card could qualify as proper identification. On April 24, 2013, Governor Bill Haslam (R) signed into law a bill that required voters to present photo identification issued by the state of Tennessee or the United States, which rendered library cards and photo identification issued by other states invalid. However, the Tennessee Supreme Court ordered that Memphis Public Library photo IDs be accepted until the court's final ruling. In August 2013, before the Tennessee Supreme Court issued its final ruling, the Tennessee Green Party filed a federal lawsuit challenging Tennessee's voter ID law. The Tennessee Green Party argued that the law was unconstitutional and unfair to minority voters. The Tennessee Supreme Court issued its final ruling on the voter ID law on October 17, 2013, upholding the law and allowing the legislature to block the use of library cards as identification.

As of April 2021, 35 states enforced (or were scheduled to begin enforcing) voter identification requirements. A total of 21 states required voters to present photo identification at the polls; the remainder accepted other forms of identification. Valid forms of identification differ by state. Commonly accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.

Poll times

See also: State poll opening and closing times

In Tennessee, most polling places are open between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. All precincts close at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and 7:00 p.m. Central. The polls must be open a minimum of 10 hours and may be open for a maximum of 13 hours. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Primary election type

See also: Primary elections in Tennessee

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Tennessee utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary. However, voters must affiliate with a party at the primary polling location or declare their allegiance to the party.

Absentee voting

See also: Absentee voting

Tennessee voters are eligible to vote absentee in an election if they cannot make it to the polls on Election Day for one of the following reasons:

“	The voter will be outside the county of registration during the early voting period and all day on Election Day; The voter or the voter’s spouse is enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited college or university outside the county of registration; The voter resides in a licensed facility providing relatively permanent domiciliary care, other than a penal institution, outside the voter's county of residence; The voter will be unable to vote in person due to service as a juror for a federal or state court; The voter is sixty (60) years of age or older; The voter has a physical disability and an inaccessible polling place; The voter is hospitalized, ill, or physically disabled and because of such condition, cannot vote in person; The voter is a caretaker of a person who is hospitalized, ill, or disabled; The voter is a candidate for office in the election; The voter serves as an Election Day official or as a member or employee of the election commission; The voter’s observance of a religious holiday prevents him or her from voting in person during the early voting period and on Election Day; The voter or the voter’s spouse possesses a valid commercial drivers license (CDL) or the voter possesses a valid Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card and certifies that he or she will be working outside the state or county of registration during the open hours of early voting and Election Day, and has no specific out-of-county or out-of-state address to which mail may be sent or received during such time; The voter is a member of the military or is an overseas citizen.	”
—Tennessee Secretary of State

To vote absentee, a request must be received by county election officials no earlier than 90 days and no later than seven days prior to the election. The completed ballot must then be returned by the close of polls on Election Day.

Early voting

See also: Early voting

Tennessee permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

As of April 2021, 38 states and the District of Columbia permitted early voting. Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on election day. States that do not permit early voting still permit some or all citizens to vote early by mail—often known as absentee voting. Some states allow no-excuse absentee voting, while others require an excuse. States that allow in-person absentee voting without an excuse are counted among early voting states. Click here for early voting laws by state.

Convicted felons' voting rights

See also: Voting rights for convicted felons

In Tennessee, those who have committed an infamous crime lose their right to vote, according to Article 1, Section 5 of the state's constitution. Since many felonies are classified as infamous crimes, individuals convicted of felonies are often disqualified from voting and must petition for restoration of their voting rights upon completion of their sentence or receive a pardon from the governor. Click here for more information on the restoration of voting rights for individuals convicted of felonies in Tennessee and for a list of felony offenses classified as infamous crimes. Procedure for restoring voting rights depends upon the year of conviction and nature of the felony committed.

Voting rights for convicted felons vary from state to state. In the majority of states, convicted felons cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.

Election administration costs

National Conference of State Legislatures report, 2018

On February 14, 2018, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released a report on the costs of election administration in the states: "The Price of Democracy: Splitting the Bill for Elections." The report's authors noted that "no one knows how much [states] spend on elections ... [because] good research on election costs is slim." Generally, local units of government (most often counties, but sometimes cities and towns) are primarily responsible for election administration costs, though states and the federal government may also contribute. The report identified the states listed in the table below as assuming financial responsibility for at least some aspects of election administration.

To access the complete NCSL report, click here.

Election administration costs assumed by state
State pays all expenses for federal or state elections	State bears a portion of election costs	State pays for statewide special elections or statewide elections that don’t coincide with regularly scheduled elections	State pays for primary elections (statewide, presidential, or both)
Alaska Delaware	Alabama Colorado Hawaii Kentucky Louisiana Rhode Island	Arkansas Florida Iowa Michigan Missouri New Jersey North Dakota Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Tennessee Washington West Virginia	Arizona Arkansas Idaho Kansas Michigan Minnesota Missouri South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington
Note: If a state is not listed above, it was not included in the report. Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, "The Price of Democracy: Splitting the Bill for Elections," February 14, 2018

Election agencies

File:US-ElectionAssistanceCommission-Seal.svg

Seal of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission

See also: State election agencies

Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in Tennessee can contact the following state and federal agencies.

Tennessee State Elections Commission

312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue

7th Floor, Snodgrass Tower

Nashville, Tennessee 37243-1102

Telephone: 615-741-7956

Email: tennessee.elections@tn.gov

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

1335 East West Highway, Suite 4300

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

Telephone: 866-747-1471

Noteworthy events

2021

On June 12, 2020, several Tennessee organizations, including the Memphis A. Phillip Randolph Institute and the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP, filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee for a preliminary injunction that would bar enforcement of a Tennessee law requiring first-time voters to vote in person. The plaintiffs cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a justification for the injunction. On September 9, 2020, Judge Eli Richardson granted the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction, temporarily suspending the first-time voter restriction. The state appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. On October 19, 2020, a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit unanimously upheld the lower court's order. The Sixth Circuit panel included Judges Karen Moore, Julia Gibbons, and Chad Readler. Writing for the court, Gibbons said, "[Disrupting] the new rules at this point poses significant risk of harm to the public interest in orderly elections. In this instance, there is no substantial harm to [election officials] in continuing to comply with rules they are currently following."

However, on June 22, 2021, the same three-judge panel, at the conclusion of full briefing and oral argument, overturned the lower court's order. The panel split 2-1 with Gibbons and Readler forming the majority. In the court's opinion, Gibbons wrote:

“	[Plaintiffs'] motion for a preliminary injunction [is] inextricably tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, a once-in-a-century crisis. In their memorandum in support of their motion for a preliminary injunction before the district court, plaintiffs recognized that "these are not ordinary times." While plaintiffs claimed that the first-time restriction burned all first-time voters simply by making it more difficult for them to vote, plaintiffs' central concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic ... Fortunately, because of advancements in COVID-19 vaccinations and treatment since this case began, the COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely to pose a serious threat during the next election cycle.	”
—Judge Julia Gibbons

Moore dissented, writing, "At the very least, COVID-19 is 'capable' of continuing to burden this country through the next general election, and thus it is reasonable to expect that ... voters ... will find themselves in a similar position to the one that they found themselves in on November 2, 2020. ... At least until we are certain that COVID-19 will not be a significant threat during the next election cycle, the majority's threadbare proclamations are not enough to moot this case."

2018

On October 25, 2018, Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins, a state court judge, ordered the Shelby County Election Commission to let voters with incomplete registrations cast regular ballots on Election Day after providing complete registration information. The commission had previously said that individuals voting on Election Day with incomplete registrations would be required to cast provisional ballots owing to logistical concerns with completing registrations at polling places on the day of the election. Jenkins said, "The harm to the applicant [of casting a provisional ballot instead of a regular ballot] far outweighs the harm to the Shelby County Election Commission. Voter registration is a key component to the election process." The suit that gave rise to the ruling was initiated by the Tennessee Black Voter Project and the NAACP. Bob Dul, an attorney for the Tennessee Black Voter Project, praised the ruling: "We can all agree that our democracy is strongest when everyone who is eligible can participate. I think this ruling is a huge victory for the citizens of Shelby County and we hope it will lead to even more civic engagement in Tennessee." Linda Phillips, Shelby County's election administrator, said, "We are extremely disappointed by the court’s ruling." In testimony earlier in the day on October 25, Phillips said, "It's possible under the format [attorneys for the Tennessee Black Voter Project are] suggesting for fraud to be committed."

Election policy ballot measures

See also: Elections and campaigns on the ballot and List of Tennessee ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked no ballot measures relating to election and campaign policy in Tennessee.

Election policy legislation

The following is a list of recent election bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Tennessee state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Tennessee voting. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Voting in Tennessee - Google News

See also

• Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Tennessee
• Redistricting in Tennessee

Elections in Tennessee

• Tennessee elections, 2022
• Tennessee elections, 2021
• Tennessee elections, 2020
• Tennessee elections, 2019
• Tennessee elections, 2018
• Tennessee elections, 2017
• Tennessee elections, 2016
• Tennessee elections, 2015
• Tennessee elections, 2014

External links

• Voter guide
• Election website