Feature photo by Bailey Lowe
Story by Bailey Lowe
Early voting begins Oct. 16 and continues until Oct. 31 in Rutherford County. Any Tennessee registered voter can vote early, and it can save people time on Election Day (Nov. 5) by avoiding long lines.
The state Election Commission decides hours for early voting and announces those hours for each election. This year’s early voting times at all locations—except the election office—are from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, and the Election office voting time is from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday-Friday. At every location, early voting is from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
On the last day of early voting, machines will be sealed and taken to a secure location. Early voting results will be tallied after closing of the polls at 7 p.m. on election night, Nov. 5.
Inactive voters can also be reactivated. Tennessee strongly encourages voters to change their name or address before the deadline to register or, at the latest, during early voting.
How do you vote in this election in Rutherford County?
To meet the voting requirements for the election, residents of Rutherford County must:
- Be a U.S. Citizen
- Be a resident of Tennessee
- Be at least 18 years of age before the election date (Nov. 5)
- Have a valid form of identification (valid driver’s license or non-driver’s identification card)
- Register to vote. Unsure if you’re registered? Check it.
Students attending a college/university may qualify to vote in Rutherford County:
- If they reside in another state but attend college in Tennessee
- If they reside in Tennessee but are attending college in another state
Note: Tennessee does not accept student ID; refer to the Tennessee Identification Requirements section.
Voters may be denied eligibility to vote:
- If the person applying to vote was disqualified from voting due to a court order
- If the voter currently serves a sentence including incarceration, parole, probation, or extended supervision for a felony conviction.
What do you need to vote?
In Tennessee, you must show a valid identification to register to vote. Residents from Tennessee can use any of the following as forms of identification, even if they may be expired:
- Tennessee ID Card
- Valid federal-issued ID
- Valid U.S. Passport
- Valid Tennessee Driver’s License
- Valid ID Issued by the Tennessee Department of Homeland Security
- Valid Military ID
- License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Firearm
Where can you vote in Rutherford County?
Voting on Election Day can occur at any of the 30 locations most convenient to your work, school or travel inside Rutherford County. Early voting locations in Rutherford County are more limited than Election Day, with only nine locations.
Mandated polling locations are also no longer assigned to each voter.
Tennessee residents can also apply for absentee voting. By Tennessee law, community members are only allowed to vote absentee if they fall under certain circumstances made by the state.
What if I have work during voting and can’t take time off?
According to Tennessee Universal Citation Code, Section 2-1-106, employees are allowed absence from work for voting. Employers in the state of Tennessee are required to give their employees time to vote on election day:
- If the time away from work is reasonable and does not exceed three (3) hours.
- If the tour of duty of an employee begins three (3) or more hours after the opening of the polls or ends three (3) or more hours before the closing of the polls of the county where the employee is a resident, the employee may not take time off under this section.
- The employer may also specify the hours in which an employee may be absent, the application sent by the employee must be submitted before noon the day before the election.
Also, the voter who is absent from work may not be penalized or given a reduction in pay for the absence.
For more information about voting, polling locations, sample ballots, and more voting information, residents of Tennessee can find information on the Tennessee Online Voter Registration Website.
Bailey Lowe is a contributing writer for MTSU Sidelines.
To contact the News Editor, email newseditor@mtsusidelines.com.
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