sos.tn.gov Early Voting – In Person : Tennessee

Organisation : Tennessee Secretary of State
Facility : Early Voting – In Person
Country : United States
State : Tennessee

Early Voting – In Person : http://sos.tn.gov/products/elections/early-voting-person
Home Page : http://sos.tn.gov/elections

Early Voting – In Person :
Early voting is one of two ways in which a registered voter of Tennessee may vote before the actual election day. The second way for a registered voter to vote early is called by-mail voting.

Both early voting and by mail voting are for the voter’s convenience. These two voting choices differ in that to vote by mail, the individual must have a statutory reason. On the other hand, to vote during the early voting period, the person may vote purely for the sake of convenience.

To vote early, a person must appear in person at either the county election commission office or at a satellite voting location opened by the county election commission. The early voting period typically begins twenty (20) days before an election and ends five (5) days before an election. Although closed from voting on holidays, a person may vote early on any Saturday that falls during this time frame. In those instances in a city election where there is not any opposition on the ballot, there shall be no early voting period.

There are many advantages to voting early, namely being able to choose a day during the early voting period that best fits the voter’s schedule and the voter being able to change his or her address of registration and vote in the same voting location.

For details regarding times and early voting locations, a person must contact the local county election commission office.

Military/Overseas (UOCAVA) Absentee Information :
Military personnel, their family members and overseas voters (UOCAVA voters) may receive their absentee ballot via e-mail or by-mail upon request. UOCAVA voters may track when the ballot was received by their local county election commission office. The voted ballot must be received by the local county election commission office by the close of polls on election day to be counted.

1. Who may apply to vote absentee under T.C.A. § 2-6-502? :
To vote pursuant to the above statute, an individual must fall into one of the following categories.
MILITARY PERSONNEL: Persons who are United States citizens, residents of Tennessee and members of the Uniformed Services (i.e., armed forces personnel), and their family members.

“Armed forces personnel” is defined in T.C.A. § 2-1-104(1) as members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Environmental Science Service Administration, Public Health Service of the United State’s or members of the Merchant Marine of the United States, and their spouses and dependents.

CIVILIANS OUTSIDE U.S.: Persons who are United States citizens, residents of Tennessee, and who are currently residing overseas.

OVERSEAS CITIZEN: A United States citizen who resides outside the U.S. and, but for living outside the U.S., would be qualified to vote in Tennessee.

PERSONS BORN OVERSEAS: A person who has never lived in the U.S. but has a parent who is eligible to vote in Tennessee may vote in Tennessee in the same voting residence claimed by the parent.

2. Must I already be a registered voter to vote in Tennessee pursuant to this provision? :
No. If you meet the qualifications to register to vote in Tennessee but have not registered prior to requesting an absentee ballot and you fall into one of the above categories, your application for absentee ballot will be treated as an application for temporary registration.

Normally, an individual who registers to vote by mail must appear in person in the first election the person votes in after such registration becomes effective. This provision is waived in the case of military personnel, their family members, or overseas citizens. However, since this is only a temporary registration, once you are no longer eligible to vote under this provision of the law, you must complete a voter registration form and submit the form to your local county election commission prior to voting in any subsequent election.

If you are a registered voter prior to requesting an absentee ballot under this provision, the above information does not apply to you.

3. When may a registered voter or individual who meets the above requirements apply to vote by absentee ballot? :
Applications may be received no earlier than January 1 of the year in which the election is to be held unless the election is to be held less than ninety (90) days after January 1 of the calendar year. In that case, the application may be received no earlier than ninety (90) days before the election and no later than seven (7) days before the election.

4. What is the process for requesting an absentee ballot? :
An individual who meets the above requirements may request an absentee ballot by completing a Federal Post Card application, also known as a “Form 76 or FPCA” (herein Form 76). An overview of the process may be found at FVAP.gov.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program provides an online version of the Form 76 that a voter may complete and send to the local county election commission. Once you have provided all the information needed to obtain a ballot, print the form and sign the application.

5. How do I submit the request or application to my local county commission? :
The form may be mailed, faxed or emailed with an attached document that includes a scanned signature to the local county election commission. A form may be faxed only if the election commission office has a fax machine physically located in its office.