To vote absentee by mail, you must fall under one of these categories:
-
You will be outside Shelby County during the entire early voting period and all day on Election Day
-
You or your spouse is enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited college or university outside Shelby County
-
You reside in a licensed nursing home outside Shelby County
-
You will be unable to vote in person due to service as a juror for a Federal or State court
-
You are sixty (60) years of age or older
-
You have a physical disability and an inaccessible polling location
-
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 are a candidate for office in the election
-
You serve as an Election Day official or as an employee of the Shelby County Election Commission
-
Your observance of a religious holiday prevents you from voting in person during the early voting period and on Election Day
-
You or your spouse possess a valid commercial drivers’ license (CDL) or you possess a valid Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card , and certify that you will be working outside Tennessee or Shelby County 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. Learn more about military and overseas citizen absentee voting.
If you are eligible for an absentee ballot and you have low vision or a print disability that prevents you from reading or marking a paper absentee ballot, you may submit a Print Disability Absentee Ballot Request form to request an accessible ballot. “Print disability” means a disability that interferes with the person’s ability to effectively read, write, or use printed materials, and includes blindness, low vision, and physical disabilities such as paralysis, that interfere with such abilities. “Low vision” means a partial or total loss of sight that is not correctible with prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses. You may request that your accessible ballot be delivered electronically. Click here to download the Print Disability Absentee By-Mail Request Form.
Under Tennessee law, once you have requested an absentee ballot, you cannot vote in person for that election except by provisional ballot. Applications cannot be processed if they are received more than ninety (90) days before an election. Applications must be received no later than seven (7) days before an election. Even though that is the legal deadline, waiting until 7 days prior to the election will make it nearly impossible to receive your ballot and mail it back before the deadline.
Notice to voters using US mail service: the USPS delivery standards changed in 2016 so that First Class delivery went from 1-3 days to 2-5 days and Standard delivery is now 2-9 days. Please request your ballot as early as possible.
The Absentee Request form for the November 5, 2024 Election is available, click here for the form. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is October 29, 2024.
To become a Permanent Absentee Voter and automatically have a Request for Absentee Ballot application sent to you before every election, you must:
