Elections - Historical Notes

Districts - Reapportionment

The act listed below once affected the civil districts in Tipton County, but is no longer operative regarding elections.

1. Private Acts of 1933, Chapter 723, redistricted Tipton County into six civil districts as specified therein. The act also specified the elections of justices of the peace for each of the newly-defined civil districts and also for the towns of Covington, Brighton, Atoka, Munford, Garland and Mason. All of the justices of the peace were to constitute the members of the quarterly county court of Tipton County.

    

Elections

The following is a listing of acts for Tipton County which affected the elective process, but which have been superseded or repealed.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

1. Public Acts of 1826, Chapter 3, concerned congressional elections for the state, placing Haywood, Madison, Tipton, Hardeman, Fayette and Shelby counties in one election district [not numbered in the act] and they were to elect one senator. McNairy, Hardeman, Fayette, Shelby and Tipton counties were to elect one representative jointly.
2. Acts of 1831, Chapter 57, established a voting precinct at Portersville in Tipton County.
3. Public Acts of 1832, Chapter 4, was an act to divide the state of Tennessee into districts for the election of representatives to the congress of the United States. Perry, Henderson, McNairy, Hardeman, Fayette, Shelby and Tipton counties comprised the thirteenth district.
4. Public Acts of 1832, Chapter 9, was an act prescribing the mode of choosing electors to vote for president and vice president of the United States. The state of Tennessee was divided into fifteen districts, with the fifteenth district comprised of Henry, Weakley, Obion, Dyer, Gibson, Carroll, Tipton and Haywood counties.
5. Public Acts of 1833, Chapter 71, was an act dividing the state into representative and senatorial districts under the enumeration of 1833. The counties of Hardeman, Fayette, Shelby and Tipton composed one election district to elect one senator. The returning officers of the senatorial district were to meet at Sommerville. The counties of Haywood, Tipton and Dyer composed one election district to elect one representative. The returning officers of the representative district were to meet at Brownsville.
6. Public Acts of 1833, Chapter 76, provided for the calling of a convention to elect delegates for the purpose of revising, amending and altering the present or forming a new state constitution. The counties of Haywood and Tipton were to compose a district and elect one delegate. The returning officers for the district were to meet at Wesley, in Haywood County.
7. Public Acts of 1835-36, Chapter 39, was an act prescribing the mode of choosing electors to vote for president and vice president of the United States. It divided the state into fifteen districts, with the counties of Henry, Weakley, Obion, Dyer, Gibson, Carroll, Tipton and Haywood composing the fifteenth district. One elector was to reside in each of the districts.
8. Acts of 1842 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 1, placed Madison, Haywood, Tipton and Lauderdale counties in the same state senatorial district, with the polls to be compared at Brownsville. Tipton and Lauderdale counties were also placed in the same state representative district, with the polls to be compared at Covington.
9. Acts of 1842 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 7, placed Tipton County, along with McNairy, Hardeman, Fayette, Shelby, Haywood, Lauderdale and Dyer counties, in the tenth congressional district.
10. Acts of 1851-52, Chapter 196, was an apportioning of the representation in the U.S. Congress. The ninth congressional district was comprised of the counties of Henry, Weakley, Dyer, Obion, Lauderdale, Tipton, Gibson, Carroll and Henderson.
11. Acts of 1851-52, Chapter 197, was an act to apportion the representation in the general assembly of the state of Tennessee. The counties of Tipton, Shelby and Fayette were to elect one representative, and the polls were to be compared at Concordia. The counties of Madison, Haywood, Lauderdale and Tipton composed one senatorial district and the polls were to be compared at Brownsville.
12. Acts of 1853-54, Chapter 151, provided that the polls for floating representative for the counties of Tipton, Fayette and Shelby would be compared at the house of Col. Samuel C. Leak, in the county of Shelby.
13. Acts of 1865 (1st Sess.), Chapter 34, apportioned the state of Tennessee for its representation in the U.S. Congress, placing the counties of McNairy, Hardeman, Fayette, Shelby, Tipton, Madison and Haywood in the eighth congressional district of the state.
14. Acts of 1872, Chapter 7, once again apportioned the state of Tennessee for representation in the U.S. Congress, placing the counties of Shelby, Tipton, Fayette and Hardeman in the ninth congressional district.
15. Acts of 1891 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 10, apportioned the counties of the state, placing Tipton County in the twentieth district of counties to elect one representative, jointly, to the U.S. Congress. Tipton and Fayette counties composed the thirty-first senatorial district.
16. Private Acts of 1911, Chapter 398, made the Acts of 1897, Chapter 17, applicable to Tipton County.
17. Private Acts of 1921, Chapter 636, amended the Acts of 1901, Chapter 109, so as to remove Tipton County from the tenth congressional district and placed it in the ninth congressional district.
18. Public and Private Acts of 1931 (2nd Ex. Sess.), Private Chapter 25, set the salary of registrars in the first civil district at $3.00 per day.
19. Private Acts of 1935, Chapter 107, provided that in all general or properly called special elections held under authority of general state law, election officers in Tipton County were to receive a per diem of $2.00. This act was amended by Private Acts of 1937, Chapter 247, which raised the salary of election officers in towns of more than 2,000 population to $3.00 per day.
20. Private Acts of 1953, Chapter 31, gave the Tipton County Quarterly Court limited authority to fix the opening and closing hours of polls in general elections and state-wide primaries.