Election Integrity in Tennessee
In Tennessee, voting is accessible and secure. Thanks to laws enacted by the General Assembly and managed by the 95 County Election Commissions, Tennessee has been ranked first in the nation for election integrity by The Heritage Foundation.
How Tennessee Is Protecting the Vote
- Bipartisan poll officials help tabulate results at polling sites.
- Absentee ballots cast during early voting are not counted until Election Day.
- Tennessee prohibits out-of-state poll watchers and foreign election observers.
- Voter fraud is a felony offense in Tennessee.
- Absentee voting by mail requires a ballot request and meeting one of 14 qualifying conditions.
- Voting machines in Tennessee are not connected to the internet.
- Tennessee law prohibits Election Day registration.
- Ineligible voters are removed from voter rolls through mandated list maintenance.
- Bipartisan county election commissions must conduct public testing of voting machines before each election.
- Election Day results are unofficial until verified and certified by county election commissions.
- Officials verify the signature on absentee ballots by comparing it with the one on file.
- Absentee ballots are watermarked and counted by bipartisan boards.
- All elections are managed locally and overseen by bipartisan county election commissions.
- Voters must present a valid Tennessee or federally issued photo ID to vote; out-of-state, private organization, and college IDs are not accepted.
- Tennessee law restricts private funding of election administration.