Voting In Tennessee

To be eligible to vote in Tennessee you must be

• A U.S. citizen
• 18 years or older before the date of the election
• A resident of Tennessee (The residence of a person is the place where the person's habitation is fixed and is where, during the periods of absence, the person definitely intends to return.)
• Not disqualified under the law

Your social security number is required on the form to avoid duplication of registration.

If you registered to vote by mail and are voting for the first time since registering, you must present an acceptable form of ID. Both photo and non-photo IDs are accepted. Examples of acceptable photo ID (all must contain photograph and signature):

• Tennessee driver's license
• U.S. passport
• Student ID Card
• Military ID Card
• Valid commercial pilot's license

Examples of acceptable non-photo ID (all must contain name, address, and signature):

• Tennessee voter registration card
• Valid ID card issued by any Tennessee agency or an agency of the U.S.
• Valid pilot's license issued by the FAA or any other authorized agency in the U.S.
• Valid Tennessee hunting or fishing license
• Valid Tennessee license to carry a handgun

At the poll, voters can show any ID with signature or voter registration card to vote. However, if you are a first time voter that registered by mail you are required to show your voter registration cards, drivers' license, or photo id with your name and signature.

If you have none of these IDs then you must show two of the following forms of ID. One from each group.

Group A

Group B

You must register 30 days prior to the election. Registration in person depends on the office hours of each county elections office.

To verify your voter registration status, please contact your board of elections.

Tennessee has two forms of absentee voting: absentee voting in person and absentee voting by mail. To vote early, you do not have to give a reason if you vote between 20th day and 5 days before the election. In those instances in a city election where there is not any opposition on the ballot, early voting begins 10 days before the election. To vote by mail, you must fall under one of the following categories:

• You will be outside the county of registration during the early voting period and all day on Election Day
• You or your spouse are enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited college or university outside the county of registration
• Your licensed physician has filed a statement with the county election commission stating that, in the physician's judgment, you are medically unable to vote in person. The statement must be filed not less than five days before the election and signed under the penalty of perjury
• You reside in a licensed facility providing relatively permanent domiciliary care, other than a penal institution, outside your county of residence
• You will be unable to vote in person due to service as a juror for a federal or state court
• You are 65 or older
• You have a physical disability and an inaccessible polling place
• You are hospitalized, ill, or physically disabled and because of such condition cannot vote in person
• You are a caretaker of a person who is hospitalized, ill, or disabled
• You are a candidate for office in the election
• You serve as an election day official or as a member or employee of the election commission
• Your observance of a religious holiday prevents you from voting in person during the early voting period and on Election Day
• You possess a valid commercial driver's license and certify that you will be working outside the state or county of registration during the early voting period and all day on Election Day

You may request a by mail ballot by writing to your county elections office. The request may also be mailed or faxed. Upon receipt of the request, the local election commission will mail an application for ballot to you. However, if you want to expedite the application process, you may place the following information in the request for ballot:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your Social Security number
• The address to mail the ballot outside the county (this applies only when the reason for voting by mail involves that you will be outside of the county during early voting and on election day)
• The election you wish to participate in
• The reason you wish to vote absentee
• Your signature

A request that contains this information will be treated and processed as an application for ballot, and a ballot will be mailed to you. Unless you are an individual who has registered to vote by mail and therefore are on the permanent absentee voting register, you must appear in person to vote in the first election after the registration becomes effective. If you are a by mail registrant who has already voted in person since the registration, then no additional information will be required to vote by mail.

If you possess a valid commercial driver's license and do 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, you may:

• Complete an application to vote absentee by mail at your county elections office
• Send a written request that contains the information discussed in the question above
• Provide your current commercial driver's license number
• Provide your current residential address and any mailing address to which the ballot should be mailed

You may request an application for by mail ballot no earlier than 90 days before the election and no later than seven days before the election. To be processed for the next election, the application must be received by the election commission no later than 5 days before the election. The county elections office must receive the ballot by mail no later than the close of polls on Election Day. Once the election office issues an absentee by mail ballot to you, you can only vote by mail. If you notify the elections office that you have spoiled your ballot or have not received the ballot, the elections office shall supply you with subsequent voting supplies. The county elections office will reject the old application and send a new application to you immediately by mail to be completed and returned again. The by mail ballot must be received by the county elections office through the postal mail, it can not be hand delivered.

Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can find information on how to register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Early voting is available and no excuse is required. The early voting period for generally begins 20 days before and election and ends 5 days prior to the Election Day. You should bring your voter registration card or some form of identification with you when you vote early. However, in city election where there is not any opposition on the ballot, early voting begins 10 dyas before the election.

The next statewide election will be held Tuesday, May 4, 2010. Please check with your local board of elections office for information on local elections.

In order to be a poll worker in Tennessee:

• You must be registered to vote in Tennessee
• You must be at least 17 years of age to serve
• You will be entitled to compensation
• Political affiliation generally preferred
• You must be a resident of state house legislative district or county for the 30 days prior to the election
• You must complete required training
• Students who are 17 and meet all other voter registration requirements may be appointed

To sign up, contact your local board of elections.

Most polling places are open between 7am and 7pm. All precincts close 8:00pm eastern standard time and 7:00pm central standard time. The polls must be open a minimum of 10 hours and may be open for a maximum of 13 hours. Contact your local elections commission to find out more.

Employers must grant employees up to three hours paid leave to vote, unless polls are open three hours before or after regular working shift. Employees must request this time by noon the day before Election Day, and the employer may specify when during the working day employees may take time off.

You can find your polling place by utilizing VOTE411's poll locator tool. Some states and local jurisdictions provide their own poll locators. You can confirm your voting location by selecting from the following local resources: Nashville and Davidson County.

If you claim to be registered but are not on the list, you can receive a provisional ballot for later verification. Ballots are eligible for verification if votes are cast in the correct precinct. Tennessee does not provide a limited provisional ballot.

The voting systems used in Tennessee are optical scan and DRE.

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.

Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen.

There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session.

Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show “pages.” On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a “touch screen,” where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for.

You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures is available here.

Polling places are generally accessible and the voting machines comply with HAVA. If you have disabilities, you are allowed to bring someone to help you vote.You may also request assistance from poll workers. Such assistance will be provided by two poll workers, one from each party.

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

For information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.