• Official State Website
• Secretary of State Website
• Absentee Voting Rules Webpage

Summary
Voters in Tennessee can vote on the day of the actual election, vote early, or vote by absentee ballots. 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.

Tennessee has two forms of absentee voting:
1. Absentee in person, which is better known as early voting, and
2. Absentee by mail, which is commonly called by-mail voting.

To vote as an early voter, a registered voter may vote without giving a reason during the established early voting period. The early voting period typically begins twenty (20) days before an election and ends five (5) days before an election. In those instances in a city election where there is not any opposition on the ballot, early voting begins ten (10) days before the election.

Deadlines

• Deadline to register to vote in November 2008 election: October 5th, 2008
• Deadline to register for absentee ballot in November 2008 election: October 28th, 2008
• Early voting period is from October 15th, 2008 - October 30th, 2008

Voting Equipment
Voting systems in Tennessee by county.
Check out this incredible instructional video of the Hart Intercivic Eslate technology that some Tennessee counties use.
This is a state-of-the-art voting system. Using an access code you can select different languages, scroll through the ballots, etc. There is a ballot summary page that lists all choices you have marked and if you missed any areas you can make corrections. A waving American flag signals that your vote has been cast.
There are also lower polling booths for wheelchairs, headphones with audio cues for blind voters, and a poll worker can bring out the Eslate machine to your vehicle if you are not mobile.