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Tennessee: Voter Guide
Voting Information // Tennessee
Registration:
3/7

Automatic voter registration

Online voter registration

Pre-registration before turning 18

Number of days prior to election a voter must be registered is 15 days or less

Online voter registration closes 15 days or less before Election Day

Registration drives

Same day registration offered in all elections

Same day registration located at polling place

Same day registration offered only during early voting

Accessibility:
5/8

All mail voting

In-person early voting

Amount of early voting days is higher than 7

Election day is a state holiday

No-excuse mail voting

12+ hours of open polls

Paid time off work to vote

Time off work to vote

Requirements:
3/7

Felons can vote after incarceration with completion of sentence

Felons can vote immediately after incarceration

Felons can vote while incarcerated

No ID required to vote

Mental competency not required to register

Non-photo ID required to vote

Photo-ID required to vote

Upcoming Elections

There are no upcoming elections. Sign up for email or text notifications prior to important election dates.

Voting Qualifications

Not a convicted felon, unless your civil rights have been restored
Resident of Tennessee
United States Citizen
18+ Years of Age

Deadlines

In Person - 
30 days before Election Day
Mail - 
Postmarked 30 days before Election Day
Online - 
30 days before Election Day
Mail - 
Application to request absentee ballot due 7 days before Election Day
Mail - 
Voted ballot due by close of polls on Election Day
In Person - 
Between 5 and 20 days before Election Day

More Information

Voters do not declare affiliation with a party in order to vote in primary elections, but they must choose one party's ballot.

You may vote by absentee ballot in Tennessee if:

  • You are sixty (60) years of age or older.
  • You will be outside the county where you are registered during the early voting period and all day on Election Day.
  • You are hospitalized, ill or physically disabled and unable to appear at your polling place to vote (this includes persons who have underlying medical or health conditions which in their determination render them more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 or at greater risk should they contract it).
  • You are the caretaker of a person who is hospitalized, ill, or disabled (this includes voters who care for or reside with persons who have underlying medical or health conditions which in their determination render them more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 or at greater risk should they contract it).
  • You or your spouse are a full-time student in an accredited college or university outside the county where you are registered.
  • You reside in a nursing home, assisted living facility or home for the aged outside your county of residence.
  • You are a candidate for office in the election.
  • You are observing a religious holiday that prevents you from voting in person during the early voting period and on Election Day.
  • You serve as an Election Day official or as a member or employee of the election commission.
  • You will be unable to vote in-person due to jury duty.
  • You have a physical disability and an inaccessible polling place.
  • You or your spouse possess a valid commercial drivers license (CDL) or Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card and you will be working outside the state or county of registration during the open hours of early voting and Election Day and have no specific out-of-county or out-of-state address to which mail may be sent or received during such time.
  • You are a member of the military or are an overseas citizen.
  • You are on the permanent absentee list


Do I qualify for the permanent absentee list?

You will receive an application for ballot for each election if your licensed physician signs a statement stating that, in their judgment, you are 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.


If you are voting in person in Tennessee, you must present one of the following forms of photo ID when you vote early or on Election Day (these IDs may be either expired or unexpired):

  • A Tennessee driver’s license
  • A US passport
  • Photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security
  • Photo ID issued by the federal or Tennessee state government
  • US military photo ID
  • Tennessee handgun carry permit with your photo


A student ID or any other ID not issues by the federal or Tennessee state government will NOT be accepted.


If you don’t bring a photo ID, you will vote a provisional ballot. You will then have two (2) business days after Election Day to return to the election commission office to show a valid photo ID. Upon returning to the election commission office, the voter will sign an affidavit and a copy of the voter’s photo ID will be made to be reviewed by the counting board.