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. 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.

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.