NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A proposal in the Tennessee legislature would change the deadline to request an absentee ballot.
Currently, voters in the state can ask for an absentee ballot up to seven days before an election. The bill proposed by Sen. Richard Briggs (R - Knoxville), SB 1648, would change that deadline to ten days before an election. It is expected to be discussed in the Senate's State and Local Government Committee on Jan. 23, and no companion bill has been filed in the House of Representatives.
People are eligible to ask for an absentee ballot if they meet at least one of several requirements, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State's office. Those requirements are available below.
- You are sixty (60) years of age or older.
- You will be outside the county where you are registered during the early voting period and all day on Election Day.
- You are hospitalized, ill or physically disabled and unable to appear at your polling place to vote. A physician’s statement is not required to check this box.
- You are the caretaker of a person who is hospitalized, ill, or disabled. A physician’s statement is not required to check this box.
- You or your spouse are a full-time student in an accredited college or university outside the county where you are registered.
- You reside in a nursing home, assisted living facility or home for the aged outside your county of residence.
- You are a candidate for office in the election.
- You are observing a religious holiday that prevents you from voting in person during the early voting period and on Election Day.
- You serve as an Election Day official or as a member or employee of the election commission.
- You will be unable to vote in-person due to jury duty.
- You have a physical disability and an inaccessible polling place.
- You or your spouse possess a valid commercial drivers license (CDL) or Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card and you will be working outside the state or county of registration during the open hours of early voting and Election Day and have no specific out-of-county or out-of-state address to which mail may be sent or received during such time.
- You are a member of the military or are an overseas citizen.
- You are on the permanent absentee list.
Voters can ask for an application for an absentee, by-mail ballot no earlier than 90 days before an election, according to the state Secretary of State's Office. If the bill passes, voters will have a total of 80 days to request a ballot, as opposed to the current 83 days.
Anyone who is eligible for an absentee ballot and wants to request one needs to submit a written request to their local county election commission office. An absentee ballot request form is available through the Tennessee Secretary of State's Office.