2023 Tennessee Code › Title 2 - ELECTIONS (§§ 2-1-101 — 2-20-109) › Chapter 7 - PROCEDURE AT THE POLLING PLACE (§§ 2-7-101 — 2-7-143) › Section 2-7-114 - Voting by paper ballots

(a)
When the voter is to vote by paper ballot, the voter shall then present the ballot application to the judge who is in charge of paper ballots. The judge shall write the ballot number of each ballot the voter is entitled to on the ballot application, give the ballot or ballots to the voter, and give the ballot application to the judge who is assigned to deposit ballots in the ballot box. The judge shall, upon demand of any voter at the time the voter receives the ballot, tell the voter the order of the offices on the ballot.
(b)
(1)
The voter shall then go to a place where the voter may mark the ballot in complete secrecy and privacy and shall prepare the ballot by making in the appropriate place a cross (X) or other mark opposite the name of the candidate of the voter's choice for each office to be filled, or by filling in the name of the candidate of the voter's choice in the blank space provided, and by making a cross (X) or other mark opposite the answer the voter desires to give on each question. Before leaving the place of secrecy and privacy, the voter shall fold the ballot so that the votes cannot be seen but so that the information printed on the back of the ballot and the numbered stub are plainly visible.
(2)
Any voter who fills in or writes in the name of a candidate whose name is not printed on the ballot shall not be required to make a cross (X) or other mark next to such person's name in order for the vote to be counted.
(c)
(1)
The voter shall state the voter's name and present the folded ballot to the judge assigned to receive and deposit the ballots. The judge shall compare the ballot number on the stub with the ballot number on the voter's ballot application. If the ballot numbers are the same, the judge shall tear off the stub, attach the ballot stub to the voter's application for ballot and direct the voter to deposit the ballot in the ballot box, unless the voter is successfully challenged. The judge shall file all ballot applications and ballot stubs in the order in which they are received. Notwithstanding any other law, the procedure described herein shall govern the voting process in counties using the optical scan voting system.
(2)
In counties using an electronic ballot marking system or ballot-on-demand technology approved by the coordinator of elections, a ballot stub number is not required to be preprinted on the paper ballot. The election official shall file all ballot applications in the order in which they are received. When a ballot stub number is not preprinted on the paper ballot, the election commission must reconcile the number of applications issued in the polling place with the number of ballots recorded by the optical scanner used to tabulate the ballots in the polling place. Whenever the total number of applications issued differs from the total number of ballots scanned in a tabulator used in the polling place, the election commission shall complete a written report explaining the difference.
(3)
If the voter is voting a provisional ballot pursuant to §
2-7-112(a)(3) and (e)
, the voter shall state the voter's name and present the folded ballot to the judge assigned to receive and deposit the provisional ballots. The judge shall compare the provisional ballot number on the stub with the provisional ballot number on the voter's ballot application. If the provisional ballot numbers are the same, the judge shall tear off the stub and attach the ballot stub to the voter's application for ballot. The judge shall file all ballot applications and ballot stubs in the order in which they are received. Unless the voter is successfully challenged, the judge shall direct the voter to deposit the provisional ballot into the provisional ballot envelope that contains the provisional ballot affidavit. The judge shall ensure that the provisional ballot affidavit has been completed and signed by the voter and direct the voter to deposit the provisional ballot, in its envelope, in an absentee ballot box that satisfies the requirements for absentee ballot boxes and that has been locked pursuant to §
2-6-311
.
Amended by 2020 Tenn. Acts, ch. 655, s 2, eff. 4/2/2020.
Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 749, s 1, eff. 5/2/2018.
Acts 1972, ch. 740, § 1; T.C.A., § 2-714; Acts 1981, ch. 478, §17; 1997 , ch. 558, §16; 2003 , ch. 352, § 4.