You can vote absentee by-mail if you fall under one of the following categories:
- 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. A physician’s statement is not required to check this box.
- 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.
A registered voter may request an application for a 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.
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.
- Name of the registered voter
- Address of the voter's residence
- Voter's social security number
- Voter's date of birth
- Address to mail the ballot
- 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.
- 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.
- Voter's signature
A request that contains this information will be processed and a ballot will be mailed to the voter.
If you do not provide all of the information required your county election commission will return the application to you so you can make corrections and resubmit your application.
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).
You must mail your ballot in time for your county election commission to receive it no later than the close of polls on Election Day.
You must return your ballot by mail (USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc.). Hand delivery or handing it to a poll worker during early voting or on Election Day is not permitted.
The ballot request form asks for my social security number. I am not comfortable giving it out. Can I just write in the last 4 digits?
No. Tennessee law requires the entire social security number. Applications will not be processed without the complete number.
I noticed that my signature on the ballot request form looks different from the way I signed my voter registration card years ago. Does that matter?
The signature on both your absentee ballot request form and the ballot affidavit will be compared to the signature on your voter registration record. What is important is consistency in the way you sign your name. For example, if you always include a middle name in your legal signature, sign it that way on the forms.
How long does it take for the Election Commission to respond and send me an absentee ballot?
You can track when your absentee ballot is sent to you at https://tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup/. Your county election commission should have the ballots available for mailing by the second half of September.
I messed up my absentee ballot. What do I do?
Request a new ballot to replace a spoiled ballot from your county election commission, https://tnsos.org/elections/election_commissions.php . They will send you one that is marked as a replacement ballot so that only one ballot from you will be counted in an election.
What if I change my mind or never received my requested ballot and want to vote in person?
If you did not already mail a ballot back to the Election Commission or you are concerned that your ballot may not be received on time, you must request a “provisional ballot” at a polling site on either an early voting day or Election Day. Provisional ballots are saved separately by poll workers and will be counted after election staff verify through their records that they did not receive a ballot through the mail from you.
Can I drop off my ballot?
No! Election law requires that all absentee ballots must be mailed. The Election Commission cannot accept ballots that are dropped off at their office.
Does the absentee ballot need to be postmarked by election day? Or must it be received by then?
Your ballot must be received by close of election day. Be sure to allow enough time for the post office to deliver it! The post office gives the cautious recommendation of allowing one week for local deliveries.
I am worried about reports that the post office has slowed its deliveries. What can I do to be sure my ballot arrives on time?
Don’t wait! Mail as early as possible and don’t forget a stamp!
More than one person in my household wants to vote absentee this year. Do I have to send in all the ballots separately or can I mail them all together?
Each ballot must be sealed in in its individual signed affidavit envelope. Mailing more than one in the same affidavit envelope will spoil the ballots and they will not be counted. However, your household may mail all the signed affidavit envelopes in the same outer envelope. Be sure to add enough stamps.
How can I be sure that my ballot has been received by the Election Commission?
Do your part! Send your absentee ballot on time. Track the status of your ballot on the TN Secretary of State’s voter lookup, https://tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup/.
How do I know that my votes will be counted?
Any ballot that arrives on or before Election Day that has a signed affidavit with a signature that matches the voter registration card is counted.
How is my vote kept anonymous if I mail it in?
Your ballot will arrive at the election commission in a sealed affidavit envelope that you have signed. Once received, the signature is compared with the signature on your ballot application form. Then the signature flap is removed from the envelope so that the sealed ballot remains anonymous.
Are absentee ballots only counted in close races?
NO! They are always counted! All absentee ballots with a valid signed affidavit received by close of Election Day are counted along with ballots cast during early voting periods.
Do I need to go through the application request process if I already requested one for the primary?
YES! A separate absentee ballot request form must be filed for each election. Only those individuals who have submitted a physician’s form stating they have a long term/ permanent disability or illness will receive ballots without separate applications.
https://sos.tn.gov/products/elections/absentee-voting
What common mistakes cause ballots to be rejected?
Election officials tell us the single most common reason is that ballots are not received by the close of election day.
Less common are absent-minded voters who:
- Forget to sign and seal their affidavit ballot envelope;
- Choose more than one candidate for each office;
- Use a pencil instead of a blue or black pen to fill in the bubbles;
- Mix up which household member’s ballot goes in which envelope.
Other questions?
- Please contact the League of Women Voters of Tennessee at [email protected] or leave us a voice mail, 629-777-5677.