Elections - Historical Notes

The following is a listing of acts for Stewart County which affected the elective process, but which have been superseded or repealed. They are listed here for historical and reference purposes. Also referenced below are acts which repeal prior law without providing new substantive provisions.

1. Acts of 1803, Chapter 24, delineated Tennessee into five presidential electoral districts and allocated to the fifth district the counties of Davidson, Williamson, Robertson, Montgomery, Stewart, Rutherford, and Dickson. The votes in this district would be compared and counted at Nashville.
2. Acts of 1803, Chapter 79, provided for three U.S. Congressional representatives for Tennessee, one each from the districts of Washington, Hamilton, and Mero, to which Stewart County belonged.
3. Acts of 1805, Chapter 64, established the general assembly of Tennessee with 13 senators and 26 representatives. The counties of Robertson, Dickson, Montgomery, and Stewart, composed a joint senatorial district and their votes would be counted in Clarksville. Of the 26 representatives, Montgomery County and Stewart County would elect one together.
4. Acts of 1807, Chapter 4, stated that on the first Thursday and Friday in August, 1809, and every two years thereafter, the sheriff, or his deputy, of Stewart County, shall cause an election to be held at a place called Roslin, adjacent to Welles Creek meeting house where votes shall be cast for the governor, members to the United States Congress, the general assembly, and the field officers of the militia, and the president and vice-president of the United States. All the polls cast would be examined and counted at Clarksville on the Monday following.
5. Acts of 1807, Chapter 74, set up five presidential electoral districts in Tennessee. The fifth district would be made up of the counties of Davidson, Robertson, Montgomery, Stewart, Dickson, Williamson, Maury, Rutherford, Bedford, and Hickman, in which one elector would be elected.
6. Acts of 1809, Chapter 1, decided that the three U.S. Congressmen from Tennessee would be elected from the districts of Washington, Hamilton, and the combined districts of Mero, Winchester, and Robertson.
7. Acts of 1812, Chapter 5, established eight presidential electoral districts in the state. The eighth district was made up of the counties of Robertson, Montgomery, Stewart, Dickson, Hickman, and Humphreys, and the votes would be counted and compared at Charlotte.
8. Acts of 1812, Chapter 27, organized six U.S. congressional districts in the state, thus doubling the number of Congressional Representatives for Tennessee. The sixth U.S. Congressional district was composed of the counties of Robertson, Montgomery, Dickson, Humphreys, Hickman, Stewart, Maury, and Giles and elected one representative to Congress.
9. Acts of 1812, Chapter 57, apportioned the state for representation in the general assembly in which plan the number of state senators was increased to 20 and the representatives to 40. One senatorial district was composed of the counties of Montgomery, Stewart, and Humphreys whose votes would be counted at Roslin, and the counties of Stewart and Humphreys would jointly elect one representative.
10. Acts of 1815, Chapter 31, reenacted the eight presidential electoral districts in exactly the same fashion as they were established in the 1812 Act.
11. Acts of 1815, Chapter 54, obligated the sheriff, or his deputy, of Stewart County, on the constitutional days for holding elections to hold a separate and distinct election at the house formerly occupied by Nathan Ross near the mouth of Savine Creek on the north side of the Cumberland River in Stewart County. The purpose of the election was to elect electors to elect the president, vice president, members to the state legislature and field officer for Stewart County. The votes cast here shall be counted either at Dover, or at Roslin, as the convenience of the parties may dictate.
12. Acts of 1817, Chapter 4, required that the election officers of the district of Montgomery, Stewart, and Humphreys counties, who have been heretofore meeting in Roslin in Stewart County, shall, in the future, meet at the house of Phillip Hornberger in Stewart County and be governed by the same rules and regulations.
13. Public Acts of 1819, Chapter 69, established the senatorial and representative districts of Tennessee in which the counties of Stewart, Perry, and Humphreys would share one state senator, and Stewart County would elect one representative of the 40 for herself only.
14. Public Acts of 1821, Chapter 46, declared that the new counties west of Stewart County are hereby attached to the Stewart Electoral District for all constitutional elections. The senatorial district composed of the counties of Stewart, Humphreys, Perry, Henry, Carroll, and Henderson will compare polls at Reynoldsburgh in Humphreys County.
15. Public Acts of 1822, Chapter 1, separated Tennessee into nine U.S. congressional districts assigning the counties of Robertson, Montgomery, Dickson, Stewart, Humphreys, and Hickman to the eighth U.S. congressional district.
16. Public Acts of 1823, Chapter 47, set up eleven presidential electoral districts in the state. The tenth district had in it the counties of Montgomery, Robertson, Stewart, Dickson, Humphreys, and Hickman. Votes would counted and compared at Charlotte in Dickson County.
17. Public Acts of 1824, Chapter 1, was an exact reenactment of Public Acts of 1823, Chapter 47, above, which divided the state into eleven presidential electoral districts.
18. Public Acts of 1826, Chapter 3, reapportioned the state for the general assembly. The counties of Stewart, Humphreys, Perry, and Henderson were one senatorial district, and Stewart, Humphreys, and Perry constituted one representative district.
19. Private Acts of 1827, Chapter 3, directed the treasurer of West Tennessee to pay to Williamson B. Bowman the sum of $100.00 which was due to John Graham, the late representative from Stewart, Perry, and Humphreys counties, for his services in the general assembly plus $28.25 representing the expenses he incurred while he was in Nashville.
20. Public Acts of 1827, Chapter 17, organized Tennessee into eleven presidential electoral districts of which the tenth was made up of the Counties of Robertson, Montgomery, Dickson, Stewart, Humphreys, and Perry.
21. Public Acts of 1832, Chapter 4, created 13 U.S. congressional districts in the State of Tennessee. The eleventh U.S. district had in it the counties of Robertson, Montgomery, Stewart, Humphreys, Hickman, and Dickson.
22. Public Acts of 1832, Chapter 9, provided for 15 presidential electoral districts in the state. The thirteenth district contained the counties of Robertson, Montgomery, Stewart, Dickson, and Humphreys.
23. Public Acts of 1833, Chapter 71, divided Tennessee into senatorial and representative districts for the general assembly. One senatorial district comprised the counties of Stewart, Humphreys, Perry, and Henderson, and arrangements were made to count these votes at Reynoldsburgh in Humphreys County. Stewart, Humphreys, and Perry counties shall jointly elect one representative.
24. Public Acts of 1833, Chapter 76, provided for the election of 60 delegates to a constitutional convention on the first Thursday and Friday in March, who would meet in Nashville on the third Monday in May to amend, revise, or alter the existing State Constitution, or to write a new one. The counties of Dickson, Stewart, and Humphreys would compose one district for this purpose and elect two representatives, or delegates, to the convention.
25. Public Acts of 1833, Chapter 94, declared that a precinct election shall be held hereafter at the house of John Lea in Stewart County under regular election laws.
26. Public Acts of 1835-36, Chapter 39, divided the state into 15 presidential electoral districts allocating the counties of Robertson, Montgomery, Stewart, Dickson, and Humphreys to the thirteenth electoral district.
27. Acts of 1842, Extra Session, Chapter 1, increased the number of senators in the state legislature to 25 and the number of representatives to 50. The counties of Dickson, Stewart, Humphreys, and Benton made up the nineteenth state senatorial district where the votes would be counted at Simon's Old Store in Dickson County. Stewart County would elect one of the 50 representatives alone.
28. Acts of 1842, Extra Session, Chapter 7, created eleven U.S. congressional districts in the state. The ninth U.S. congressional district listed the counties of Robertson, Montgomery, Stewart, Dickson, Humphreys, Benton, and Henry.
29. Acts of 1851-52, Chapter 196, reduced the number of U.S. congressional districts to ten and assigned the counties of Davidson, Robertson, Montgomery, Stewart, and Dickson to the eighth congressional district.
30. Acts of 1851-52, Chapter 197, established the representation in the general assembly for the counties of the state. Stewart County would elect one representative to the legislature alone, and share a state senator with the counties of Robertson, and Montgomery, in which district the polls would be counted at Clarksville.
31. Public Acts of 1865, Chapter 34, was a post Civil War Act which delineated eight U.S. congressional districts in the state. The sixth district contained the counties of Lawrence, Wayne, Hardin, Decatur, Perry, Lewis, Maury, Hickman, Humphreys, Dickson, Montgomery, and Stewart.
32. Public Acts of 1871, Chapter 146, apportioned Tennessee for the state legislature according to the 1870 Federal Census. The number in the general assembly remained at 25 Senators of which the counties of Robertson, Montgomery, and Stewart made up the seventeenth district, and Montgomery and Stewart would jointly elect one of the fifty representatives.
33. Acts of 1872, Extra Session, Chapter 7, fashioned 9 U.S. congressional districts for the state. The seventh district was composed of the counties of Montgomery, Houston, Stewart, Humphreys, Benton, Henry, Carroll, Henderson, Decatur, Perry, Hardin, and McNairy.
34. Public Acts of 1873, Chapter 27, increased the number of U.S. congressional districts in Tennessee to ten. The sixth district contained the counties of Davidson, Cheatham, Dickson, Humphreys, Stewart, Houston, and Montgomery.
35. Public Acts of 1881, Chapter 6, reapportioned Tennessee for the general assembly according to the 1880 Federal Census count. Stewart County would elect one representative alone and would share a state senator with Montgomery County in the twenty-first state senatorial district.
36. Public Acts of 1881, Extra Session, Chapter 5, permanently fixed the number of senators in the Tennessee General Assembly at 33 and the number of the representatives at 99.
37. Public Acts of 1882, Extra Session, Chapter 27, reorganized the state into ten U.S. congressional districts. The sixth congressional district listed the counties of Davidson, Robertson, Cheatham, Montgomery, Stewart, Humphreys, and Houston.
38. Public Acts of 1891, Extra Session, Chapter 10, divided the state into senatorial and representative districts. Stewart County retained the one representative alone and would share a
    state senator with Cheatham, Dickson, and Houston counties in the twenty-third senatorial district.
39. Public Acts of 1901, Chapter 109, established ten U.S. congressional districts in the state. The counties of Davidson, Robertson, Cheatham, Stewart, and Montgomery constituted the sixth U.S. congressional district. The congressional districts would continue to be organized under public law appearing in the state code from henceforth but the general assembly of Tennessee would not be apportioned again for over fifty years.
40. Public Acts of 1901, Chapter 122, assigned the counties of Dickson, Humphreys, Houston, and Stewart to the twenty-third state senatorial district, and still permitted Stewart County to elect one representative alone. This was the last act of apportionment for the general assembly for over fifty years.
41. Private Acts of 1933, Chapter 521, provided that in all the primary and general elections in Stewart County any voter who declared to the officers and judges holding the election that by reason of blindness, or other physical disability, or for any other plausible reason, he or she is unable to mark the ballot, shall upon their request receive the assistance of the officer holding the election who shall mark the ballot according to the specific directions of the handicapped person, and the officer shall certify to the above facts on the outside of the ballot form.
42. Private Acts of 1949, Chapter 741, provided that an election shall be held in Stewart County at the same time as the general election in August, 1950, on the question of whether or not beer containing ¼ of one percent of alcohol may be sold, given away, traded, owned, or possessed in the county. The details of printing and marking the ballots and for holding the election are outlined in the laws. If the act passes, there shall be no change but if it fails, then it shall be unlawful to sell, trade, etc., the described beer in Stewart County.