Student Voting Project | Tennessee

Voting at School

ID Requirements

Tennessee requires all voters who vote in person at the polls to show ID that has their signature on it; first-time voters who registered by mail will also have to show either a photo ID or a document with their name and address.[1]

First-time voters who registered by mail can fulfill both ID requirements by showing their voter registration card, a current Tennessee driver’s license or non-driver’s ID card, or another photo ID that has both their name and signature, including a student ID with a signature.[2]  Otherwise, they’ll have to prove their identity by showing a current and valid photo ID, including a student ID, or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or any other government document showing their name and address, and they’ll also have to produce a document with their signature, like a Social Security card or a credit card.[3]  You can show a cell phone bill or a student housing bill to show your name and address, and you can also show an online printout of a bill or your bank statement.[4]  If a voter can’t show a document with a signature, they can sign an affidavit and vote a regular ballot.[5] If a voter can’t show a photo ID or a document with their name and address, they’ll have to vote a provisional ballot, which will be counted if it’s determined that they are an eligible voter.[6]

All other voters must show evidence of their signature at the polls, such as a voter registration certificate, Tennessee driver’s license or non-driver’s ID card, Social Security card, credit card or any other document with his/her signature.[7] If a voter can’t show a document with a signature, they can sign an affidavit and vote by regular ballot.[8]

Registration Requirements

The voter registration deadline is thirty days before the election. If you register by mail (including through a voter registration drive), you won't be able to vote absentee. If you want to vote absentee your first time, consider registering in person in the summer before you go away to school and then updating your address once you get to school in the fall.

Residency Requirements

In the state of Tennessee, you can establish residency for voting purposes if you intend to make a place your residence and there's some objective indication of your intent. Your residence is your "fixed habitation," the place where you definitely intend to return after being away. "Residence" equals domicile under Tennessee law. Accordingly, a person can have only one residence.

Cases in Tennessee's courts have indicated that domicile and residence for voting requires intent to make a place your "permanent" home. In response to questions about students' eligibility to vote in Tennessee if they have uncertain plans after graduation, the Tennessee Secretary of State's office responded that students who plan to leave their school communities after graduation, as well as those who do not know whether they will stay or leave their school communities, are unable to establish voting residency in Tennessee.

Election administrators may consider the following when determining residency: the location of any land owned by a person; the location of a person's work; the place where a person pays taxes; a person's driver license address; and why a person is located in a particular place. However, election officials may not reject a voter's registration based solely on the type of place they live: a person can be or become a Tennessee residence while living in any type of dwelling, including a dormitory. It looks like some local county registrars may generally allow students to elect to register and vote in their college communities.

Students who lived in Tennessee before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their Tennessee voting residency (i.e., at their parents' Tennessee address), should have no problem doing so unless they've already registered to vote in another state. Like all states, Tennessee allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the district to attend school, and the only way you might lose this residency is by establishing residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your Tennessee residency, some judges or officials might view it as such.

If you drive in Tennessee, you should be aware that registering to vote in the state automatically classifies you as a resident for the purposes of the driver's license laws. New Tennessee residents are required to get a license within 30 days of becoming a resident.

Challenges to Residency

If the county official in charge of voter registration rejects your registration application because they believe you're not a genuine resident, they have to give you notice and inform you of your right to appeal to the county commission of elections within ten days. You also have a right to have a court review your case.

Your residency can also be challenged at the polls, by another voter or by poll watchers, who can be appointed both by political parties and by other groups that are interested in the "purity of elections." If you're challenged, you'll have to swear an oath and answer the poll workers' questions. Unless they unanimously agree you're not eligible, you'll be allowed to vote normally.

Absentee Requirement

Only voters who either registered to vote in person or who have voted before in Tennessee can vote by absentee ballot. To vote absentee, voters must be either attending school outside their county of registration, or have another reason for being outside of their county of registration during both Election Day and the early voting period (from 20 days before the election to 5 days before the election). First-time voters who registered by mail are not allowed to vote absentee and must travel to their voting residences to vote in person.

Your absentee ballot application, which can be mailed or faxed, must be received by the county elections commission seven days before the election. You must mail in your absentee ballot, and it has to be received by the county election commission by the close of polls on Election Day.

Voting at Home

ID Requirements

Tennessee requires all voters who vote in person at the polls to show ID that has their signature on it; first-time voters who registered by mail will also have to show the ID required by HAVA.

First-time voters who registered by mail can fulfill both ID requirements by showing their voter registration card, a current Tennessee driver's license or non-driver's ID card, or another photo ID that has both their name and signature, including a student ID with a signature. Otherwise, they'll have to prove their identity by showing a current and valid photo ID, including a student ID, or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or any other government document showing their name and address, and they'll also have to produce a document with their signature, like a Social Security card or a credit card. You can show a cell phone bill or a student housing bill to show your name and address, and you can also show an online printout of a bill or your bank statement. If a voter can't show a document with a signature, they can sign an affidavit and vote a regular ballot. If a voter can't show a photo ID or a document with their name and address, they'll have to vote a provisional ballot, which will be counted if it's determined that they are an eligible voter.

All other voters must show evidence of their signature at the polls, such as a voter registration certificate, Tennessee driver's license or non-driver's ID card, Social Security card, credit card or any other document with his/her signature. If a voter can't show a document with a signature, they can sign an affidavit and vote by regular ballot.

Registration Requirements

The voter registration deadline is thirty days before the election. If you register by mail (including through a voter registration drive), you won't be able to vote absentee. If you want to vote absentee your first time, consider registering in person in the summer before you go away to school and then updating your address once you get to school in the fall.

Residency Requirements

In Tennessee, you can establish residency for voting purposes if you intend to make a place your residence and there's some objective indication of your intent. Your residence is your "fixed habitation," the place where you definitely intend to return after being away. "Residence" equals domicile under Tennessee law. Accordingly, a person can have only one residence.

Cases in Tennessee's courts have indicated that domicile and residence for voting requires intent to make a place your "permanent" home. In response to questions about students' eligibility to vote in Tennessee if they have uncertain plans after graduation, the Tennessee Secretary of State's office responded that students who plan to leave their school communities after graduation, as well as those who do not know whether they will stay or leave their school communities, are unable to establish voting residency in Tennessee.

Election administrators may consider the following when determining residency: the location of any land owned by a person; the location of a person's work; the place where a person pays taxes; a person's driver license address; and why a person is located in a particular place. However, election officials may not reject a voter's registration based solely on the type of place they live: a person can be or become a Tennessee residence while living in any type of dwelling, including a dormitory. It looks like some local county registrars may generally allow students to elect to register and vote in their college communities.

Students who lived in Tennessee before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their Tennessee voting residency (i.e., at their parents' Tennessee address), should have no problem doing so unless they've already registered to vote in another state. Like all states, Tennessee allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the district to attend school, and the only way you might lose this residency is by establishing residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your Tennessee residency, some judges or officials might view it as such.

Challenges to Residency

If the county official in charge of voter registration rejects your registration application because they believe you're not a genuine resident, they have to give you notice and inform you of your right to appeal to the county commission of elections within ten days. You also have a right to have a court review your case.

Your residency can also be challenged at the polls, by another voter or by poll watchers, who can be appointed both by political parties and by other groups that are interested in the "purity of elections." If you're challenged, you'll have to swear an oath and answer the poll workers' questions. Unless they unanimously agree you're not eligible, you'll be allowed to vote normally.

Absentee Requirement

Only voters who either registered to vote in person or who have voted before in Tennessee can vote by absentee ballot. To vote absentee, voters must be either attending school outside their county of registration, or have another reason for being outside of their county of registration during both Election Day and the early voting period (from 20 days before the election to 5 days before the election). First-time voters who registered by mail are not allowed to vote absentee and must travel to their voting residences to vote in person.

Your absentee ballot application, which can be mailed or faxed, must be received by the county elections commission seven days before the election. You must mail in your absentee ballot, and it has to be received by the county election commission by the close of polls on Election Day.

[1]

[2]

[3] See Division of Elections, Tennessee Department of State, “Identification Requirements for First-Time Voters That Registered by Mail,” available at http://state.tn.us/sos/election/IDRequirementChart.pdf.

[4] Interview with Brook Thompson, State Election Coordinator, Tennessee Department of State (July 18, 2008).

[5] Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-7-112(c) (2009).

[6] Id. at (a)(3).

[7] Id.

[8] Id. at (a)(1)(E).

[9] Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-50-102(44)

[10] Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-50-304

[11] Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-2-125(b).

[12] Tenn. Code Ann. § 27-9-101 et seq.

[13] Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-7-104(c) (2008)

[14] Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-7-125(b) (2008).

[15] Tenn. Code Ann § 2-2-109.

[16] Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-2-115(7).

[17] See Division of Elections, Tennessee Department of State, "Identification Requirements for First-Time Voters That Registered by Mail," available at http://state.tn.us/sos/election/IDRequirementChart.pdf.

[18] Interview with Brook Thompson, State Election Coordinator, Tennessee Department of State (July 18, 2008).

[19] Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-7-112. (c)

[20] Id.  at (a)(3)

[21] Id.

[22] Id. at (a)(E)

[23] Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-6-201(2). 

[24] Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-2-115(7)

[25] Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-6-202(a)(1).

[26] Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-6-303(b).