Voting in Tennessee

At a glance

Deadlines

Mail ballot request: received Oct 27 (7 days before). Mail ballot return: received by close of polls Nov 3.

Where the road gets harder

Every rule is a cost, and it doesn't fall on everyone the same. A deadline, a document or a trip to an office is easy for some people and a real obstacle for others: people who work hourly jobs, move often, live far from an office, don't drive, or have a disability. Here is what that looks like in Tennessee.

• Registration closes before Election Day (in person: Monday, October 5). Miss it and you can't vote in this election. If you've moved, your registration may need updating by then too.
• Registration isn't automatic. Each person has to sign up on their own, which leaves out people who don't know the rules or move often.
• Without an accepted ID, your ballot is provisional. It only counts if you make a second trip to an election office with ID, within a few days and during office hours.
• You need an accepted reason to vote by mail. Excuses: age 60+, absent from county, student (or spouse) outside county, illness/disability or caregiver, election worker, work shift during polling hours, jurors, religious observance, others. Everyone else votes in person.
• Mail ballots have to arrive by Election Day; a postmark isn't enough. A ballot mailed in the last days can arrive too late and won't count, so return it in person if it's close.
• After a felony conviction: People convicted of felonies since 1981 must get rights restored by a court order or pardon (2023 Tennessee Supreme Court ruling also requires restored gun rights per state officials); some crimes (e.g. murder, rape, treason, voter fraud) bar voting permanently; 2026 SB 336 removed court-cost requirements.
• The Sentencing Project estimated in 2024 that 399,684 people in Tennessee (7.68% of the voting-eligible population, and 16.03% of Black voting-eligible residents) could not vote because of a felony conviction.Source: The Sentencing Project, Locked Out 2024
• Tennessee election officials said in 2024 that people with felony convictions must have their gun rights restored, and be current on restitution, court costs and child support, before they can regain the right to vote.Source: Associated Press via WSMV

Official links

Tennessee Secretary of State Division of Elections. These go straight to the government, not to us.

Sources

Checked October 12, 2026. Laws and court rulings change, sometimes close to an election. If anything here disagrees with your state or county election office, they are right and we are wrong; please tell us.

1. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voter-registration-deadlines
2. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/online-voter-registration
3. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/automatic-voter-registration
4. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/same-day-voter-registration
5. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-11-receipt-and-postmark-deadlines-for-absentee-mail-ballots
6. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/early-in-person-voting
7. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-2-excuses-to-vote-absentee
8. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-3-states-with-permanent-absentee-voting-lists
9. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voter-id
10. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights
11. https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/06/03/tennessee-enacts-bill-changing-voter-restoration-requirements-for-individuals-convicted-of-a-felony-10-other-election-bills-in-2026-regular-session/
12. https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/locked-out-2024-four-million-denied-voting-rights-due-to-a-felony-conviction/
13. https://www.wsmv.com/2024/01/24/felons-must-get-gun-rights-back-if-they-want-voting-rights-restored-tennessee-officials-say/