Why does Tennessee hold Thursday elections?
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Tennessee is unique in that it holds regular statewide elections on Thursdays, as opposed to most other states that hold elections on Tuesdays. Hawaii, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Texas also hold certain elections on days other than Tuesday.[1][2] The Tennessee Constitution and state code provide the basis for the state's Thursday elections.[3][4]
Tennessee holds primary elections for governor, U.S. Congress, the Tennessee General Assembly, the Tennessee Supreme Court, and intermediate appellate courts on the first Thursday in August of even years. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years. Congressional, General Assembly, and state court elections are held every two years. The state also holds some municipal and county general elections on the same date in odd years.[4][5] Presidential primaries in Tennessee are held on Super Tuesday.[6]
Tennessee law also sets the first Thursday in August as one of the default dates on which school board general elections can be held. School districts in Tennessee that hold school board general elections on the first Thursday in August, if they hold school board primary elections, must hold the primary elections on the first Tuesday in May in nonpresidential election years and on the first Tuesday in March in presidential election years. Districts that hold school board general elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, if they hold school board primary elections, must hold the primary elections on the first Thursday in August.[7]
Tennessee's Thursday election date originated in the first state constitution drafted in 1796. The unique requirement for Thursday elections remained in the state's second constitution, written in 1834, and the current constitution, which was written after the Civil War in 1870.[8] According to PBS, "Researchers at the Tennessee State Library and Archives said they looked back at the journals from the state’s constitutional convention and could find no reasoning for establishing Thursday as election day."[4] Tennessee state librarian Charles Sherrill said, "I can’t find any rationale for why Thursday was in [the state Constitution]."[8]
Election dates and deadlines vary across the country and at different levels of government. See Ballotpedia's elections calendar for a list of upcoming elections across the nation.
Constitutional basis
Article IV, Section 1 of the Tennessee Constitution gives the General Assembly the authority to set dates for state and local elections that differ from the federal November election day:
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Elections for members of the General Assembly and civil officers shall be held once every two years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. But the General Assembly shall have power to fix a different day for holding elections.[3] [9] |
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Article VII, Section 5 sets the election date for state and county offices as the first Thursday in August:
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Elections for judicial and other civil officers shall be held on the first Thursday in August, one thousand eight hundred and seventy, and forever thereafter on the first Thursday in August next preceding the expiration of their respective terms of service. The term of each officer so elected shall be computed from the first day of September next succeeding his election. The term of office of the governor and other executive officers shall be computed from the fifteenth of January next after the election of the governor. No appointment or election to fill a vacancy shall be made for a period extending beyond the unexpired term. Every officer shall hold his office until his successor is elected or appointed, and qualified. No special election shall be held to fill a vacancy in the office of judge or district attorney, but at the time herein fixed for the biennial election of civil officers, and such vacancy shall be filled at the next biennial election recurring more than thirty days after the vacancy occurs.[3] [9] |
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Statutory basis
The statutory basis for Tennessee's Thursday elections can be found in § 2-1-104 of the Tennessee Code, which defines "Regular August election" as "the election held on the first Thursday in August of every even-numbered year."[10]
Tennessee Code § 2-13-202 established primaries for governor, the Tennesee General Assembly, and U.S. Congress on the regular August election date:
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Statewide political parties shall nominate their candidates for the following offices by vote of the members of the party in primary elections at the regular August election: (1) Governor; (2) Members of the general assembly; (3) United States senator; and (4) Members of the United States house of representatives.[11] [9] |
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Tennessee Code § 2-3-202 lists local offices elected on the regular August election date:
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Elections for the following offices shall be held at the regular August election when the election immediately precedes the commencement of a full term: (1) Assessor of property; (2) Constable; (3) County clerk and clerks of the circuit and other courts; (4) County trustee; (5) District attorney general; (6) Judges of all courts; (7) Members of the county legislative body; (8) Register; and (9) Sheriff.[12] [9] |
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Tennessee Code § 17-4-105 sets the retention election date for state judges as the regular August election:
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(a) A judge, who has been appointed and confirmed for a full eight-year term on the supreme court, the court of appeals, or the court of criminal appeals and who takes office on September 1 at the beginning of the eight-year term or in accordance with § 17-4-104(a)(3), shall face a retention election at the next regular August election immediately preceding the end of the eight-year term, as provided in § 17-4-106. (b) A judge, who has been appointed and confirmed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term on the supreme court, the court of appeals, or the court of criminal appeals more than thirty (30) days prior to the next regular August election, shall stand for election in a retention election for the remainder of the term at the next regular August election following confirmation as provided in § 17-4-106. (c) A judge, who has been appointed and confirmed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term on the supreme court, the court of appeals, or the court of criminal appeals thirty (30) days or less prior to a regular August election, shall stand for election in a retention election at the next regular August election occurring more than thirty (30) days following the judge's confirmation as provided in § 17-4-106. (d) All incumbent judges of the supreme court, the court of appeals, and the court of criminal appeals who intend to stand for election for another eight-year term, shall stand for election in a retention election at the regular August election immediately preceding the end of the eight-year term as provided in § 17-4-106. (e) The judges appointed in 2014, 2015, and prior to January 28, 2016, to fill vacancies on the supreme court, the court of appeals, and the court of criminal appeals, whose names were not included on the regular August 2014 ballot, shall, upon filing a timely written declaration of candidacy pursuant to § 17-4-106 not later than twelve o'clock (12:00) noon, prevailing time, on April 7, 2016, stand for election in a retention election in the regular August election in 2016.[13] [9] |
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ FVAP, "2024 Primary Elections by state and territory, accessed July 21, 2025
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important Election Dates 2025-2026," accessed July 21, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Justia, "TN Const art VII § 5," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 PBS, "What to watch in Tennessee’s primaries," August 1, 2018
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar," accessed July 17, 2025
- ↑ Election Central, "Super Tuesday 2020," accessed July 16, 2025
- ↑ LexisNexis, "Tennessee Code Title 49 Chapter 2," accessed July 16, 2025
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Politico, "Why is Tenn. primary on Thursday?," August 7, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Justia, "TN Code § 2-1-104 (2024)," accessed July 17, 2025
- ↑ Justia, "TN Code § 2-13-202 (2024)," accessed July 17, 2025
- ↑ "Justia, "TN Code § 2-3-202 (2024)," accessed July 17, 2025
- ↑ Justia, "TN Code § 17-4-105 (2024)," accessed July 17, 2025
