Title 2, Elections

(a) After the requirements of § 2-7-130 have been met or, where voting machines are not used, after the polling place closes, the judges shall open the ballot box in the polling place in the presence of the watchers and all other persons who are present. (b) The judges shall alte…

(a) After the completion of the requirements of § 2-7-131, the duplicate tally sheets shall then be completed, showing the total number of votes cast for each office and question, the total number of votes cast for each candidate, including write-in candidates, and for each posit…

(a) Only ballots provided in accordance with this title may be counted. The judges shall write “Void” on others and sign them. (b) If the voter marks more names than there are persons to be elected to an office, or if for any reason it is impossible to determine the voter's choic…

After the tally sheets have been certified, the judges shall close and lock the voting machines and enclose the keys for each voting machine in a separate sealed envelope on which they shall certify the number of the machine, the polling place where it has been used, the number o…

(a) The officer of elections shall prepare and certify to the county election commission a list of all election officials who served at the polling place and their official positions. The list shall be signed by each official. (b) The officer of elections shall certify to the cou…

When the certification of the tally sheets is complete, the officer of elections shall publicly announce the results and shall, on demand of any candidate or watcher present, furnish such person a certified copy of the results. The certificate shall include the names of all candi…

(1) After certification of the completed tally sheets and the performance of the other duties of this chapter, the officer of elections shall have the following items placed in the ballot box or boxes which shall then be locked:(1) The bound bundles of paper ballots;(2) The recor…

The officer of elections, accompanied by either a judge or precinct registrar of another political party, shall immediately deliver the locked ballot box or boxes and remaining election supplies or equipment except the voting machines to the county election commission.

No election supplies, ballots or equipment may be removed from a polling place from the opening of the polls until the requirements of § 2-7-137 have been met except that items which have been delivered to the wrong polling place may be transferred to the correct one.

(a) Voters whose registration is in inactive status because of a failure to respond to a confirmation notice described in § 2-2-106(c) and voters who have changed their address of residence to a new address within the county of registration shall be required to vote under the pro…

(a) If the registration of a voter has been transferred to a new precinct within the same county pursuant to § 2-2-129(b)(2)(A), the voter shall be required to vote under the procedures of this section. (b) (1) A registered voter whose registration has been transferred pursuant t…

(a) A county election commission shall not prohibit a voter from using a mobile electronic or communication device at a polling place for informational purposes to assist the voter in making election decisions. A county election commission may require that any mobile electronic o…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Tennessee Freedom of Speech Act.” (b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, during the period beginning sixty (60) days before the first day voting begins pursuant to § 2-6-102(a)(1) for an election until the first day a…

(a) The county election commission shall meet at its office upon completion of its duties under § 2-8-104, but no later than the third Monday after the election to compare the returns on the tally sheets, to certify the results as shown by the returns in writing signed by at leas…

If the returns from any polling place have not been delivered to the county election commission by the first day after an election, the commission shall employ either a special messenger, a member of its staff or a member of the commission to obtain the missing returns.

No return, poll list, or certificate made under this title may be disregarded or rejected for want of form or on account of its not being strictly in accordance with the requirements of this title if it can be clearly understood. Any such return or certificate signed by a majorit…

The commission, or such persons as it may designate, shall, as soon as possible after the election, compare the votes from the tally tapes of all appropriate sources to the tabulated election results. All candidates, their representatives, representatives of the political parties…

(1) After completing the comparison of the returns, the county election commission shall make and certify the official tabulation and certification of results, showing both precinct and county totals, in the following manner:(1) In triplicate for the offices of governor, members …

(a) The commission shall seal and mail the original of the official tabulation and certification of results prepared pursuant to § 2-8-105(1) and (2) to the secretary of state and take the postmaster's receipt for it and shall mail the first copy to the governor and take the post…

(a) The commission shall seal and forward all pollbooks containing the original poll list sheets to the secretary of state within ten (10) days after the election to be stored by the secretary of state for nine (9) years, and shall deposit the pollbooks containing the duplicate p…

(a) The commission shall preserve all paper ballots for six (6) months after the election to which they were cast or offered to be cast and may then dispose of them. During the period in which they are preserved, the packages of ballots shall be kept securely locked and may be op…

The secretary of state may employ a special messenger to bring the returns filed with the county clerk if those sent by mail fail to arrive. The expenses of the messenger shall be paid out of the state treasury.

(a) The governor, secretary of state and attorney general and reporter shall, as soon as the returns are received, publicly calculate and compare the votes received by each person for the office of member of the general assembly, presidential and vice presidential elector, member…

(1) If there is a tie vote between the two (2) or more persons having the highest number of votes for an office, the state election commission shall cast the deciding vote except that:(1) The county legislative body may cast the deciding vote for offices filled by the votes of a …

The general assembly may, if it becomes necessary, send a special messenger for the copy of the returns of any particular county deposited with the county clerk. The expenses of the messenger shall be paid out of the state treasury.

(a) On the fourth Thursday after a primary election, the state coordinator of elections shall publicly calculate and compare the votes received by each person and declare who has been nominated for office in the primary or elected to the state executive committee. The candidates …

If the coordinator of elections determines that there is a tie between the two (2) or more candidates for an office who have the highest number of votes, the tie shall be broken as prescribed in the rules of the political party.

The coordinator of elections shall certify the names of the nominees of political parties to the county election commission of each county in which the nominees are candidates by the qualifying deadlines set in § 2-5-101.

Each candidate has the right to have delivered to the candidate by the state election commission or the county election commission certified copies of all poll lists and tally sheets used in the election in which the candidate ran, and a list of all voters who changed their resid…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Instant runoff voting” and “ranked choice voting” mean a method of casting and tabulating votes in which:(A) Voters rank candidates in order of preference;(B) Tabulation proceeds in rounds such that in each round either a candidate or candidates a…

(a) A voting machine to be used in Tennessee must provide facilities for voting for candidates at both primary and general elections, at nonpartisan elections or at a combination of a nonpartisan and partisan primary or general election. It must permit a voter to vote for any per…

(1) The county election commission shall have each voting machine furnished:(1) With an electric light or a substitute for one which will give sufficient light to enable the voters while in the booth to read the ballot labels and to enable election officials to examine the counte…

(a) The representatives of each political party on the county election commission shall jointly appoint a voting machine technician who is a member of their political party and who is qualified by training or experience to prepare and maintain the voting machines, and the county …

(a) The local authority adopting voting machines shall have custody of them when they are not in use at an election and shall preserve and keep them in repair. All keys for voting machines shall be securely locked between elections by the voting machine technician. A public offic…

(a) The county election commission shall have the proper ballot labels placed on the voting machines and shall have the machines put in proper order for voting with the registering counters set at zero (000), the counting mechanisms locked, and each machine sealed with a pre-numb…

The election commission shall ensure that the voting machines are delivered to the polling places in a timely manner and are set up in the proper manner for use at the election.

Within twenty-four (24) hours after the close of the polls, or as soon thereafter as practicable, the voting machine technician shall have the machines returned to the storage places provided under § 2-9-104(b).

Each voting machine shall remain locked against voting for five (5) days after the certification of the election and as much longer as may be necessary or advisable because of a contest over the result of the election. When another election necessitating the use of a particular v…

(a) Precincts having more than three hundred (300) registered voters shall be equipped by the county in which they are located with voting machines for use in all elections and smaller precincts may be so equipped. If the governing body of any county does not provide voting machi…

(a) The county election commission, with the approval of the coordinator of elections and the state election commission, may provide for the use of voting machines which do not meet the requirements of this title except under this section. (b) Machines and procedure for such use …

The governing body of a city, town or county may adopt voting machines and, upon the adoption and purchase of voting machines, shall provide for payment for the machines in the way it deems for the best interest of the locality and may for that purpose issue bonds, certificates o…

(a) When the governing body of a county requests the coordinator of elections to have the state finance the acquisition of a specified number of voting machines under §§ 2-9-112 — 2-9-114, the governing body of the county and the coordinator of elections shall enter into an agree…

(a) The commissioner of finance and administration shall purchase or otherwise acquire voting machines to carry out § 2-9-112. (b) The coordinator of elections, subject to the approval of the commissioner, shall determine the number of machines to be purchased for the governing b…

All moneys paid by the county to the coordinator of elections under the provisions of either the contract, lease and option or the “voting machine loan agreement” shall be paid into the “voting machine loan fund” and shall be used to fund subsequent loans pursuant to § 2-9-112 in…

Nothing in this chapter shall prevent voting machines owned or controlled by one governing body from being used by another governing body when arrangements to do so are agreed upon by the affected governing bodies.

A county election commission may establish and implement a policy permitting the use of voting machines by a group of citizens; provided, that in any county having a metropolitan form of government, the decision to implement the policy is subject to the approval of the local gove…