Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-12-102 (2026)

• (a)
  • (1) Except as provided in subdivision (a)(2), persons appointed to the county election commission shall be registered voters who have been residents of the state for five (5) years and residents of the county for which they are appointed for two (2) years.
  • (2) In counties having a population of not less than two hundred seventy-six thousand (276,000) nor more than two hundred seventy-seven thousand (277,000), according to the 1970 federal census or any subsequent federal census, the persons appointed to the county election commission shall be registered voters who have been residents of the county for which they are appointed for two (2) years.

• (b)
  • (1) A county election commissioner who qualifies as a candidate for any public office while serving as a commissioner is automatically disqualified to continue in office as a commissioner, and a vacancy exists on the commission.
  • (2) If an immediate family member of a county election commissioner is on the ballot for public office in the county in which the commissioner serves, the commissioner must:
    • (A) Abstain from voting on any issues that directly affect the commissioner's immediate family member; and
    • (B) Be recused from the official duties of the commission at least thirty (30) days before the election and the state election commission shall appoint a temporary replacement for the election. The recused county election commissioner is reinstated to the office after the election in question is certified.
  • (3) As used in this subsection (b), "immediate family member" means a spouse, parent, sibling, or child.

• (c) A person employed as an assistant public defender or an assistant district attorney may serve as a county election commissioner if such assistant public defender or assistant district attorney does not work in the district in which such assistant public defender or assistant district attorney lives.

• (d) Subsection (c) shall not apply in any county having a population of not less than eight hundred ninety-seven thousand four hundred (897,400) nor more than eight hundred ninety-seven thousand five hundred (897,500), according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census.

Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 292, s 1, eff. 7/1/2021.

Acts 1972, ch. 740, § 1; 1976, ch. 558, § 1; 1979, ch. 232, §§ 1, 2; T.C.A., § 2-1202; Acts 2003 , ch. 374, §§ 19, 20.