Inactive Voters and Provisional Ballots

County election commissions are permitted to establish a centrally located polling place for voters whose registration is inactive or whose registration has been transferred to a new precinct. T.C.A. §§ 2-7-140 and 2-7- 141. When a voter attempts to vote at a precinct where he or she is no longer eligible to vote, the election official at the voter's old polling place would notify the voter that he or she has the choice to vote at either the centrally located place or the new polling place. If the central location is other than the county election commission office, then the site must be equipped with computers linked to the county election commission office to allow voters' records to be changed.

In 2003, the General Assembly authorized provisional ballots in Tennessee. T.C.A. § 2-7-112. Under this law, a person shall be entitled to vote a provisional ballot if they claim to be properly registered in the county and eligible to vote at the precinct, but their eligibility cannot be determined by the computer signature list or by examination of the permanent registration records or an election official asserts that the individual is not eligible to vote.