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If you disagree with the judge’s decision in your case, you may file a Petition for Reconsideration (PFR) or an appeal. Usually, a PFR is decided by the judge who initially heard your case. If you appeal an Initial Order, the case will go back to the agency where the case started for a decision and that agency will issue a Final Order. A Final Order (whether issued by the ALJ or the agency) may be appealed through the courts, usually starting with Chancery Court. All Initial and Final Orders will have specific information about how to file a PFR or an appeal. Different cases have different rules about when and where you can file a PFR or an appeal so you MUST check the Notice of Appeal Procedures attached to your order.
If you wish to contact the ALJ assigned to your case, you may email the ALJ. However, you must also include the other parties in the case on your email. Failure to include the other parties in your email is inappropriate ex parte communications. If you do not have contact information for the ALJ assigned to your case, please contact APD.
A raffle is a game of chance in which a participant is required to purchase a ticket for a chance to win a prize, with the winner to be determined by random drawing.
Military personnel, their family members and overseas voters (UOCAVA voters) may receive their absentee ballot via e-mail or by-mail upon request. UOCAVA voters may track when the ballot was received by their local county election commission office. The voted ballot must be received by the local county election commission office by the close of polls on election day to be counted. Please see our complete guide on How to Vote Absentee for Military and Overseas Voters.
No. Only qualified 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organizations that have applied and been approved are allowed to hold a raffle. Holding a raffle would be a violation of law and subject to criminal prosecution.
If the Secretary of State is notified of an unapproved event, the Division will notify the local district attorney general. Conducting an unapproved game of chance may be a violation of the criminal gaming statute, and local law enforcement has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute the individuals responsible for the event.
Only a qualified 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organization that has submitted an application to the Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming and that has been approved by the Tennessee General Assembly can hold a raffle.
Raffles, reverse raffles, cakewalks, cake wheels, and bingo.
Generally, hearing decisions are rendered within 90 days from the date the record closes, however, there are many exceptions based on the type of case and whether a rule or statute specifically addresses decision timelines. More specific information about when a decision will be made in your case may be discussed with the ALJ during your hearing.
Yes. The individuals who are not allowed to purchase tickets include:
- Any member of the board of directors of a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organization authorized by the general assembly to operate an annual event for such organization.
- Any officer or employee of a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organization authorized by the general assembly to operate an annual event for such organization.
- Any immediate family member residing in the same household as the board of directors or an officer/employee of the organization. (The Charitable Gaming Law defines immediate family as spouse, child, step-child, brother, sister, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, parent or grandparent)
- Any member of the general assembly during such member's term of office as a member of the general assembly.
- The Secretary of State or any employee of the Secretary during the Secretary's term of office and such employee's term of employment with the Secretary.
- Any vendors including employees, agents, or subcontractors (also includes immediate family members of the same household) who provide printing services, telephone services, and any records, devices, or other gaming-related supplies and those who provide prizes for the authorized annual gaming event.
An organization that fails to submit the report by 90 days will be responsible for a $10.00 per month late fee. If a report is not filed at all, action may be taken against the organization. Failure to timely file in 2 of 3 consecutive gaming event periods could result in disqualification from conducting future events.
Yes. A financial report is due 90 days after the annual event date stated in your application. If gross revenue from an event exceeds $75,000 an audited financial statement is also required. Also, organizations must return at least 25% of its gross proceeds of the event back to its stated charitable purpose or program.
No. The law only allows qualified 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) organizations to hold gaming events. Political candidates and campaigns for public office are not considered 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) tax exempt organizations.
APD conducts hearings and mediations in all 95 counties across Tennessee. These hearings or mediations may be held in-person, by telephone conference call, or by video conferencing, depending upon the case type and the needs of the parties.
Information regarding the location for your hearing should be contained in your Notice of Hearing, Notice of Hearing and Charges, or Scheduling Order. If you cannot find that information, you can call APD to ask.
If you missed your hearing, you can contact the opposing party or APD to ask about the status of your case. As a result of your absence, the ALJ may have already ruled that you are in default and dismissed the case. Or, the ALJ may have continued the hearing to another date. Either way, you should receive a written order explaining the ALJ’s ruling. If your case has been dismissed and you want to challenge that ruling, you can file a Petition for Reconsideration, explaining why you missed the hearing.
Please contact the district attorney for the county in which you believe the game of chance is taking place or contact Charitable Solicitations at (615) 741-2555 and the Division will notify the appropriate authorities.
No. If someone is required to pay for a chance to win a prize, it is considered a raffle. Only qualified and approved 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) organizations may hold a raffle. It does not matter that the payment is called a “donation.”
Organizations with an approved gaming event can begin selling tickets 120 days before the event.
Poker games and/or tournaments, pull-tabs, punchboards, video lottery games, instant and online lottery games, keno, and games of chance associated with casinos including, but not limited to slot machines, roulette wheels, and the like. Events such as bingo or “casino nights” that are purely recreational in nature and in which participants are not required to pay to participate with the promise of a prize, jackpot, or “winner-takes-all” would not fall into this category.
Yes, however each participating organization must file an application and each pay the required fee. All applicants must qualify. If one organization fails to qualify, then participants will be rejected.
The nonprofit must file a notice with the Division stating the reason less than 25% was returned to its charitable purpose or program. If this happens in two (2) consecutive years, the nonprofit will be disqualified from applying or holding future gaming events for a period of five (5) years.
APD does not offer hearings or mediations in other languages besides English nor does APD directly employ translators or interpreters. However, typically, the government agency involved in your case will provide an interpreter for a pre-hearing conference, mediation, or hearing if an interpreter is needed and requested. If you are having a hard time fully understanding all that is being discussed in your case, you should request that an interpreter be provided.
To request interpretation services, please notify the judge assigned to your case. If you do not yet have a judge assigned to your case, you can notify APD that you need translation services by emailing apd.filings@tnsos.gov or by calling 615-741-7008. Please note, if you call by telephone, APD does not have the ability to answer the call in other languages besides English.
No. The voter will receive absentee ballots for all regularly scheduled elections for the calendar year in which the request is submitted.
Note that it is the voter’s responsibility to keep the local county election office informed of any changes of address. The ballots will be mailed or e-mailed, depending on the choice of the voter, to the address that is originally submitted to the local county election office until further notice from the voter.
Applications may be received no earlier than January 1 of the year in which the election is to be held unless the election is to be held less than ninety (90) days after January 1 of the calendar year. In that case, the application may be received no earlier than ninety (90) days before the election and no later than seven (7) days before the election.
The voted ballot must be received by mail by the close of the polls on election day. If the ballot is rejected, the registered voter will be notified that the ballot was rejected and why the ballot was rejected.
The Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming maintains a list of approved events on its website at Gaming Events.
Raffles and games of chance are considered gambling, which is prohibited in Tennessee. However, certain charitable organizations are allowed to apply to have one raffle, reverse raffle, cakewalk or cakewheel each year if that event is conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Tennessee Charitable Gaming Implementation Law.
No. If you meet the qualifications to register to vote in Tennessee but have not registered prior to requesting an absentee ballot and you fall into one of the above categories, your application for absentee ballot will be treated as an application for temporary registration.
Normally, an individual who registers to vote by mail must appear in person in the first election the person votes in after such registration becomes effective. This provision is waived in the case of military personnel, their family members, or overseas citizens. However, since this is only a temporary registration, once you are no longer eligible to vote under this provision of the law, you must complete a voter registration form and submit the form to your local county election commission prior to voting in any subsequent election.
If you are a registered voter prior to requesting an absentee ballot under this provision, the above information does not apply to you.
Tennessee allows you to receive an absentee ballot by mail or e-mail. Please indicate how you would like to receive your absentee ballot on your request. If you indicate e-mail, provide your e-mail address (on the Form 76 your e-mail address should be provided in Block 2) with the request. If you do not indicate how you want your absentee ballot sent, the absentee ballot will be mailed. Tennessee does not allow you to receive your absentee ballot by fax.
If a voter notifies the election commission that he or she has “spoiled” a ballot or has not received the ballot, the election commission shall note on the records that subsequent supplies have been sent and supply the voter with subsequent voting supplies.
After timely requesting an official absentee ballot, Armed Forces personnel and overseas voters who feel that there may not be a sufficient amount of time to receive and then return the voted ballot may also use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB).
Instructions for completing an FWAB, the FWAB ballot and envelopes may be found at FVAP.gov.
Note: If both ballots are received prior to the close of the polls on election day, the county election commission will count the official ballot it provided to the voter.
Generally, ALJs are initially assigned to individual cases either by rotation or randomization, depending on the case type. Those case types with a larger volume of cases before APD are randomly assigned amongst the pool of judges. For these case types, if a hearing is continued or rescheduled, the case may be reassigned to another ALJ. Case types with a smaller volume of cases before APD are assigned by rotation amongst the ALJs. If a hearing is rescheduled for one of these cases, the case usually stays with the initial ALJ.
You may represent yourself. You are not required to have an attorney and you are not entitled to have an attorney appointed for you. You may, however, hire an attorney to represent you at your own expense. Cases before APD are official legal proceedings and they can be complicated. We understand that, and we try to make the process, hearings, and orders as straightforward as possible. However, we also encourage those with complicated cases and who cannot afford an attorney to reach out to your local bar association or Legal Aid Society in your county or region. |
Regarding businesses that may be a party in a case … if you are the owner of a sole proprietorship, you may also self-represent your business. If a party in a case is a separate legal entity, such as an LLC or corporation, representatives of those business entities may testify in hearings. However, those representatives may not act as an attorney for cross-examination of witnesses, make opening or closing statements, etc.