Elections - Historical Notes

Districts - Reapportionment

The acts listed below have affected the civil districts in Grundy County, but are no longer operative regarding elections.

1. Acts of 1843-44, Chapter 204, Section 12, which provided that the County Commissioners of newly formed Grundy County shall appoint five suitable persons as Commissioners whose duty it would be to lay off the county into Civil Districts and to designate within the Civil Districts thus laid off, the places where elections would be held.
2. Acts of 1905, Chapter 210 created and established four Civil Districts in lieu of the thirteen Civil Districts that existed prior to this act.  
3. Private Acts of 1913, Chapter 162 created a new Fifth Civil District out of hte Fourth Civil District as it was established by Chapter 210, Private Acts 1905.
4. Private Acts of 1917, Chapter 798 amended Private Acts of 1913, Chapter 162 by creating a new Sixth District out of the existing Third Civil District.
5. Private Acts of 1919, Chapter 519 forms the Seventh and Eighth Civil Districts and reconstitutes the First civil District to the boundaries it had before Private Acts of 1905, Chapter 210 was enacted.
6. Private Acts of 1935, Chapter 438 amended Private Acts of 1917, Chapter 798 by stricking out the words "Chapter 162, Private Acts of 1913" as they appear, and substitute "Chapter 210, Private Acts 1905" which corrected an obvious error, and by inserting a geographical change in the area of the 6th Civil District.

Elections

The following is a listing of acts for Grundy County which affected the elective process, but which have been superseded or repealed.  They are listed here for historical and reference purposes. 

1. Acts of 1851-52, Chapter 196, divided Tennessee into ten United States Congressional Districts.  The Fourth Congressional District had in it the counties of Jackson, Macon, Smith, DeKalb, White, Warren, Coffee, Grundy, and Van Buren.
2. Acts of 1851-52, Chapter 197, reorganized the State for the General Assembly.  Grundy, Coffee, and Van Buren Counties would elect one Representative to the General Assembly jointly and county the polls at Altamont.  One State Senatorial District was composed of the counties of Warren, Cannon, Coffee, Grundy, and Van Buren, and these votes would be tabulated and verified in McMinnville.
3. Acts of 1865, Chapter 39, delineated the State into eight U.S. Congressional Districts of which the Third Congressional District consisted of the counties of Meigs, Rhea, Hamilton, Marion, Grundy, Bledsoe, Van Buren, Sequatchie, Warren, White, Smith, Cumberland, Putnam, Jackson, Macon, Overton, DeKalb, and Fentress.
4. Acts of 1867-68, Chapter 5, moved the place for comparing the polls in the representative District made up of Van Buren, Grundy, and Coffee Counties to the city of McMinnville in Warren County.
5. Acts of 1871, Chapter 147, reapportioned the State for the General Assembly according to the population court in the 1870 Federal Census.  Marion, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Hamilton, Grundy, and Van Buren Counties would elect one Representative jointly.  The Seventh State Senatorial District was composed of the counties of Rhea, James, Hamilton, Bledsoe, Sequatchie, Marion, Grundy, and Van Buren.
6. Acts of 1872, Chapter 7, redistricted Tennessee for the United State Congressional Representatives into nine Districts.  The Third U.S. Congressional District contained the counties of Blount, Loudon, Roane, Monroe, McMinn, Meigs, Rhea, Polk, Bradley, James, Hamilton, Marion, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Grundy, Van Buren, and Warren.
7. Acts of 1873, Chapter 27, divided the State into ten U.S. Congressional Districts and assigned Polk, McMinn, Meigs, Rhea, Bradley, James, Hamilton, Marion, Grundy, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Van Buren, White, Warren, DeKalb, Cannon, and Cumberland Counties to the Third Congressional District.
8. Acts of 1881 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 5, set the number of Senators for the General Assembly at 33 and the number of Representatives at 99 for the future composition of the General Assembly.
9. Acts of 1881 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 6, reapportioned the state being the same on the 1880 Federal Census.  Marion and Grundy Counties would elect one Representative between them.  The Ninth Senatorial District of the State had Grundy, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Van Buren, Rhea, Cumberland, Morgan, and White Counties in it.
10. Acts of 1882 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 27, divided the State into ten U.S. Congressional Districts, assigning Monroe, Polk, Bradley, Hamilton, James, McMinn, Bledsoe, Sequatchie, Marion, Grundy, Van Buren, White, and Warren Counties to the Third U.S. Congressional Districts.
11. Acts of 1891 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 10, reapportioned Tennessee's General Assembly according to the 1890 Federal Census.  Grundy, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Van Buren, and Cumberland Counties would jointly elect one State Representative.  Marion, Grundy, Franklin, and Warren Counties would make up the 11th State Senatorial District.
12. Acts of 1901, Chapter 109, divided Tennessee into ten U.S. Congressional Districts assigning the counties in accordance with the 1900 Federal Census.  The Third Congressional District listed the counties of Monroe, Polk, McMinn, Meigs, Bradley, James, Hamilton, Marion, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Van Buren, Grundy, White, Warren, and Franklin.
13. Acts of 1901, Chapter 122, was the last reapportionment of the Tennessee General Assembly until the Federally ordered reapportionment took place in the 1960's.  The Eleventh State Senatorial District comprised Marion, Franklin, Grundy, and Warren Counties.  Cumberland, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Van Buren, and Grundy Counties would elect one Representative jointly.
14. Private Acts of 1931, Chapter 154, stated that within thirty days from the passage of this Act the Grundy County Election Commission would hold an election and submit to the people the question of whether Chapter 5, Private Acts of 1913, should be repealed or not.  The results of the election were to be certified to the Grundy County delegation in the General Assembly as soon as they were known by the Election Commission.