Early voting is one of two ways in which a registered voter of Tennessee may vote before the actual election day.  The second way for a registered voter to vote early is called by mail voting. 

Both early voting and by mail voting are for the voter’s convenience.  These two voting choices differ in that to vote by mail, the individual must have a statutory reason.  On the other hand, to vote during the early voting period, the person may vote purely for the sake of convenience.

To vote early, a person must appear in person at either the county election commission office or at a satellite voting location opened by the county election commission.  For each election, early voting begins 20 days before the election and ends 5 days before the election.  Although closed from voting on holidays, a person may vote early on any Saturday that falls during this time frame.  (The only exception to this time period, involves a municipal election in which there is not any opposition for any of the offices involved on the ballot.)

There are many advantages to voting early, namely being able to choose a day during the early voting period that best fits the voter’s schedule and the voter being able to change his or her address of registration and vote in the same voting location.

For details regarding times and early voting locations, a person must contact the local county election commission office.