Tennessee § 2-2-109 - Registration periods.

§ 2-2-109. Registration periods.

A qualified voter may register or have the voter's registration altered at the commission office at any time the office is open, except that applications for registration shall not be processed for twenty-nine (29) days before an election, except as provided in subsection (b); provided, that a qualified voter may file a mail registration form by postmarking the registration form or submitting the registration form thirty (30) days before an election. A mail registration form lacking a postmark, but signed and dated at least thirty (30) days before an election, shall be timely filed if it is received by the county election commission no later than the twenty-seventh day prior to the election. A qualified voter may correct a deficient but timely filed mail registration form if the voter files a completed registration application or otherwise corrects the deficiency on or before the next regularly scheduled November general election. The administrator of elections shall register the person to vote if the person is otherwise eligible to register. Deficient registrations not corrected on or before the next regularly scheduled November general election shall no longer be considered deficient and shall be void. The administrator shall be empowered to update an existing registration until no later than five (5) days before an election to place it within the correct precinct in the county when a voter changes the voter's address through the process described in § 2-7-140. When the thirtieth day before an election falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, applications for registration shall be accepted and processed the next business day following such Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. This extends the deadline for applications for registration completed at the county election commission office as well as the deadline for having a by-mail registration form postmarked. When elections are being held in two (2) or more voting districts within any county, the time period for such registration or alteration of permanent registration records shall be calculated for each election separately, and such registration or alteration of permanent registration records is not prohibited in one (1) election because it is twenty-nine (29) days prior to another within the same county. Acts 1972, ch. 740, § 1; T.C.A., § 2-209; Acts 1980, ch. 678, § 1; 1980, ch. 728, § 1; 1994, ch. 919, § 4; 1995, ch. 76, § 3; 1997, ch. 550, § 3; 2000, ch. 756, § 1; 2001, ch. 413, § 9; 2002, ch. 698, § 3; 2007, ch. 125, § 1; 2008, ch. 928, § 1; 2013, ch. 179, § 2; 2013, ch. 231, § 1; 2014, ch. 724, § 2; 2016, ch. 827, § 1. Compiler's Notes. References to the county “registrar-at-large” and “deputy registrar” have been changed to “administrator of elections” and “deputy”, respectively, pursuant to Acts 1997, ch. 558, §§ 21 and 22. Amendments. The 2014 amendment, in (a), substituted “if the voter files a completed registration application or otherwise corrects the deficiency no later than five (5) days before the next regularly scheduled November general election” for “if the voter comes to the commission office no later than five (5) days before the election and presents the rejection of registration notice to the administrator of elections” at the end of the third sentence, added the present fourth sentence, and substituted “The administrator of elections” for “The administrator” at the beginning of the penultimate sentence. The 2016 amendment, in (a), substituted “on or before the next” for “no later than five (5) days before the next” preceding “regularly scheduled November general election” in the third sentence; added the present fourth sentence; substituted “on or before the next” for “prior to the five (5) days before the next” preceding “regularly scheduled November general election” in the present fifth sentence, and at the end of the same sentence substituted “void” for “rejected”; and deleted the former fifth sentence, which read: “The administrator of elections shall register the person to vote if the person is otherwise eligible to register.” Effective Dates. Acts 2014, ch. 724, § 12. April 16, 2014. Acts 2016, ch. 827, § 7. April 21, 2016. Law Reviews. Tennessee Annexation Law: History, Analysis, and Proposed Amendments (Frederic S. Le Clercq), 55 Tenn. L. Rev. 577 (1989). Attorney General Opinions. Where the thirtieth day before an election falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline for registering to vote is the immediately preceding day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, OAG 06-171 (11/22/06).