TN Code § 6-18-104 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 6 - Cities and Towns|Chapter 18 - City Manager-Commission Charter—adoption or Surrender|§ 6-18-104. Election to Adopt City Manager Form

  An election for the purpose of determining whether or not Chapters 18 22 of this title shall become effective for any city shall be included on the ballot at the next election, as defined in § 2-1-104, by the county election commission upon the petition in writing of thirty-three and one-third percent (33 1/3%) of the registered voters of the city or territory, which petition shall state therein in a sufficient manner the boundaries of the proposed municipal corporation, which may be done by a general reference to the boundaries then existing if there is one. Petitioners shall attach a list of the names of all persons who at the time of making the list would be qualified voters in the proposed territory. The county election commission shall, in addition to all other notices required by law, publish one (1) notice of the election in a newspaper of general circulation within the territory of the city or of the proposed city and post the notice in at least ten (10) places in the territory.   At any time not less than thirty (30) days prior to the election provided for in this section, the request or petition may be withdrawn or may be amended to call for a smaller territory for the proposed municipal corporation so long as all of the proposed smaller territory is contained within the boundaries of the territory described in the first petition or request. The withdrawal or amendment shall be valid if filed with the county election commission in writing and executed by twenty percent (20%) of the number of the registered voters voting at the last election within the boundaries of the territory described in the original request or petition, and if signed by not less than fifty-one percent (51%) of those who signed the original request or petition. In the event such an amended request or petition is filed, all provisions relating to time periods in § 6-18-103 shall be controlled by the date of the filing of the original petition, notwithstanding the filing of the amended request or petition, and the county election commission shall publish the notice of election as provided for in this section. A petition for request to withdraw, when filed with and validated by the county election commission, shall render the original request or petition null and void.   Following the defeat of an incorporation in an election held pursuant to this section, no new request for petition for an election may be filed until after the expiration of four (4) years. If the territory included in the boundaries of the newly proposed municipal corporation includes less than fifty percent (50%) of the territory subject to incorporation in such previous election, and if the territory subject to incorporation in such election comprises less than fifty percent (50%) of the territory included in the boundaries of the newly proposed municipal corporation, the four-year waiting period shall not be required.    If a proposal to incorporate a territory is defeated in an election held pursuant to this section by a number of negative votes comprising more than sixty percent (60%) of the persons voting, no further incorporation election shall be held for a period of four (4) years from the previous election unless the conditions established in subsection (c) are met.   If a proposal to incorporate a territory is defeated in an election held pursuant to this section by a number of negative votes comprising less than sixty percent (60%) of the persons voting, no further incorporation election shall be held for a period of two (2) years from the previous election unless the conditions established in subsection (c) are met.