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What is absentee voting?
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Who may apply to vote absentee?
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What is the process for requesting the by-mail
ballot?
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Is any additional information required for
individuals who have registered to vote by mail?
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How can a person who possesses a valid commercial
driver license (or the spouse of a person possessing
a valid commercial driver license) or a
transportation worker identification credential and
who will be working outside the county of
registration during the early voting period and all
day on election day vote? If the voter (or spouse)
possesses a valid commercial driver license or the
voter possesses a valid transportation worker
credential card and does not have a specific
out-of-county or out-of-state location to which mail
may be sent or received during the early voting or
election day hours, the voter may:
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When may a registered voter apply to vote by mail?
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To be counted, when must the ballot be received by
the election commission?
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What if I do not receive or ruin my ballot and can
no longer use it?
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What if I do not provide all of the information
required on the by-mail ballot application?
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Can the ballot be hand delivered?
1. What is absentee
voting?
Absentee voting is a voting
method that involves voting on a day earlier than the
actual election day.
Tennessee has two forms of
absentee voting:
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1. Absentee in person,
which is better known as early voting, and
2. Absentee by mail, which
is commonly called by-mail voting. |
2. Who may apply to vote
absentee?
To vote as an early voter, a
registered voter may vote without giving a reason during
the established early voting period. The early voting
period typically begins twenty (20) days before an
election and ends five (5) days before an election. In
those instances in a city election where there is not
any opposition on the ballot, there shall be no early
voting period.
To vote by mail, a
registered voter must fall under one of the following
categories:
1. The voter will be
outside the county of registration during the early
voting period and all day on election day;
2. 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;
3. The voter's
licensed physician has filed
a statement with the
county election commission stating that, in the
physician's judgment, the voter is medically unable
to vote in person. The statement must be filed not
less than seven (7) days before the election and
signed under the penalty of perjury;
4. The voter resides in a
licensed facility providing relatively permanent
domiciliary care, other than a penal institution,
outside the voter's county of residence;
5. The voter will be unable
to vote in person due to service as a juror for a
federal or state court;
6. The voter is sixty (60)
years of age or older;
7. The voter has a physical
disability and an inaccessible polling place;
8. The voter is
hospitalized, ill, or physically disabled and
because of such condition, cannot vote in person;
9. The voter is a caretaker
of a person who is hospitalized, ill, or disabled;
10. The voter is a candidate
for office in the election;
11. The voter serves as an
election day official or as a member or employee of
the election commission;
12. 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;
13. 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.
14. The voter is a
member of the military or is an overseas citizen. read
more ...
3. What is the process for requesting the
by-mail ballot?
You must submit a
written request containing the information below to
your local
county election commission office by
the seventh day before Election Day. You can use the absentee
ballot request form to make
sure all required information is provided.
You can submit your
written request for an absentee ballot by mail, fax,
or e-mail. If e-mailing your request, be sure the
attached document contains the information below and
your scanned signature.
1. Name of the registered
voter
2. Address of the voter's
residence
3. Voter's social security
number
4. Voter's date of birth
5. Address to mail the
ballot
6. The election in which
the voter wishes to participate. If the election
involves a primary, the political party in which the
voter wishes to participate.
7. Reason the voter wishes
to vote absentee. If applicable, a copy of the CDL
containing the CDL number or the TWIC card must be
included in the voter's request.
8. Voter's signature
A request that contains this
information will be processed and a ballot will be
mailed to the voter.
NOTICE: A
person who is not an employee of an election commission
commits a Class E felony if such person gives an
application for an absentee ballot to any person
or commits a Class A misdemeanor if such person gives an
unsolicited request for application for absentee ballot
to any person. T.C.A. § 2-6-202(c)(3) and (4).
4. Is any additional
information required for individuals who have registered
to vote by mail?
Unless an individual who has
registered to vote by mail is on the permanent absentee
voting register, that person must appear in person to
vote in the first election after the registration
becomes effective. If a by-mail registrant has already
voted in person since the registration, then no
additional information will be required to vote by
mail.
5. How can a person who possesses a valid
commercial driver license (or the spouse of a person
possessing a valid commercial driver license) or a
transportation worker identification credential and who
will be working outside the county of registration
during the early voting period and all day on election
day vote? If the voter (or spouse) possesses a valid
commercial driver license or the voter possesses a valid
transportation worker credential card and does not have
a specific out-of-county or out-of-state location to
which mail may be sent or received during the early
voting or election day hours, the voter may:
1. Complete an application
to vote absentee by mail at the voter's county
election commission office; or
2. Send a written request
that contains the information discussed in the
question above; and
3. Provide a copy of the
current commercial driver license which contains the
commercial driver license number or a copy of the
current transportation worker credential card;
4. Provide the voter's
current residential address and any mailing address
to which the ballot shall be mailed.
6. When may a registered voter apply to
vote by mail?
A registered voter may
request an application for by-mail ballot no earlier
than ninety (90) days before the election and no later
than seven (7) days before the election. To be processed
for the next election, the application must be received
by the election commission no later than seven (7) days
before the election.
7. To be counted, when must the ballot be
received by the election commission?
The county election
commission must receive the ballot by mail no later than
the close of polls on election day.
8. What if I do not receive or ruin my
ballot and can no longer use it?
If a voter notifies the
election commission that he or she has "spoiled" a
ballot or has not received the ballot, the election
commission shall note on the records that subsequent
supplies have been sent and supply the voter with
subsequent voting supplies.
9. What if I do not provide all of the
information required on the by-mail ballot application?
The county election
commission will reject the application and return the
application to the voter immediately by mail to be
completed and returned again. If time permits, any
rejected application must be corrected and returned to
the County Election Commission by the seventh (7th) day
before the Election.
10. Can the ballot be hand delivered?
No. The by-mail ballot must
be received by the county election commission office
through the postal mail.
2024
Election Calendar
View key dates for the 2024
election cycle
Federal and State
Candidate Lists
View candidates lists U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and Tennessee
General Assembly.
U.S. Senate
U.S. House
Tennessee General Assembly
Register to Vote
Outlines how to become
eligible to vote in Tennessee.
Absentee Voting
Outlines the timeframe for early
voting and the procedures for requesting a by-mail absentee
ballot.
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