Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-12-116 (2026)

The county election commission shall promulgate such policies as are necessary to aid the personnel of the election commission office in the performance of their duties with regard to the promotion of voter registration and the electoral process. These duties shall include the following:

• (1) The commission shall appoint an administrator of elections, who shall be the chief administrative officer of the commission and shall be responsible for the daily operations of the commission office and the execution of all elections. After May 31, 1993, any administrator appointed at large for the first time to such position shall possess a high school education or high school equivalency credential approved by the state board of education. In evaluating a prospective appointee, the commission shall consider the knowledge and experience of such prospective appointee in the following areas: administrative, managerial, instructional, communication, budgetarial, purchasing, promotional, legal and general office skills and other related skills necessary to fulfill the statutory requirements of administrator;

• (2) Upon the recommendation of the administrator, the commission shall approve an annual budget for the operation of the election commission;

• (3) Upon the recommendation of the administrator, the commission shall be responsible for approving any voting equipment to be purchased by the county for use by the commission;

• (4) Upon the recommendation of the administrator, hire legal counsel if necessary to conduct the business of the commission;

• (5) The commission shall appoint voting machine technicians as required in § 2-9-103. A voting machine technician shall work under the direction of the administrator;

• (6) The commission shall certify all voting machines prior to each election and shall canvass all voting machines after each election;

• (7) The commission shall assist the administrator in designating polling places, precinct boundaries and, in conjunction with the primary boards and the administrator, shall assist in obtaining and appointing poll workers as needed for each election;

• (8) The commission shall be responsible for locking or sealing all absentee ballot boxes and shall retain possession of the keys for such boxes;

• (9) The commission members shall be available to assist election commission personnel upon request throughout each election day;

• (10) The commission may act as the central absentee counting board if the total number of absentee ballots to be counted is fewer than one hundred (100);

• (11) The commission shall be responsible for certifying the results of each election in regard to official tabulations and shall be responsible for certifying all expenses incurred in regard to the commission's responsibility in the performance of its duties for a presidential preference primary or a special election for the sole purpose of selecting a member of the general assembly;

• (12) The commission shall be responsible for the keeping and writing of the minutes of all commission meetings;

• (13) The commission shall be responsible for determining a uniform time for the opening of the polls;

• (14) The commission members shall not request, except in the event of an emergency, that the administrator employ members of the county election commission, their spouses, parents, brothers, sisters or children, including in-laws, of commission members as clerical assistants, absentee voting deputies, poll officials or as a member of the absentee counting board;

• (15) The commission shall be responsible for maintaining the security of the election commission office and any other rooms or facilities it may use in the performance of its duties, including all locks and keys. The commission may delegate this responsibility to the administrator; and

• (16) The commission members shall not appoint or hire, except in the event of and during an emergency, spouses, parents, brothers, sisters, or children, including in-laws, of the administrator as deputies, clerical assistants, absentee voting deputies, machine technicians, poll officials, or as members of the absentee counting board.

Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 114,s 1, eff. 7/1/2023.

Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 268, Secs.s 1, s 6 eff. 4/25/2013.

Acts 1993, ch. 518, §§ 1, 21; 1994, ch. 859, § 10; 1997 , ch. 558, § 17; 2011 , ch. 236, § 1.