View Scorecard for Year
Responsive Gov’s Grade TL;DR
This past session, the Tennessee Legislature passed a mix of pro-voter and anti-voter legislation. While legislators made changes to improve mail ballot access for voters with visual and print disabilities, they also instituted strict registration requirements for third party voter registration groups working in the state and made changes to curb election administration training. Therefore, Tennessee received a D+ on this year’s progress report.
Looking Back
Where Tennessee Started at the Beginning of 2024
- Automatic Voter Registration: No
- Online Voter Registration: DMV ID
- Same-Day Registration: No
- Restoration of Rights: Some Permanent Disenfranchisement
- Vote by Mail: Excuse-Required
- Electronic Registration Information Center Member: No
- Early Voting Opportunities: Regular Ballot Early Voting
- ID Requirements: Strict Photo ID
Relying on the Cost of Voting Index for Tennessee as of 2024, we considered the state a bottom tier state for pre-existing voting policy and compared its 2024 activity against other bottom tier states.
How Our Tier Compares
- COVI (2024): 39th
- EPI Score (2022): 43rd
- CLC State Scorecard (2022): 5/10
- MAP Democracy Rating (2024): LOW
2024: This Past Year
Legislative Action
This past session, the Legislature made several changes aimed at curbing pro-voter groups from conducting voter registration drives and offering continuing education and resources for election administrators. The Legislature also made small improvements to expand voter access for individuals with certain types of disabilities.
- SB 2586/ HB 1955 requires third-party voter registration groups to register with the state for every election cycle and provide names and addresses for everyone working to register voters for the group. The law also includes several fines for failure to comply.
- SB 1706/HB 1799 requires any organization or person that wants to provide election administration training to county election commissioners to get pre approval by the secretary of state.
- SB 1967/HB 2294 shortens the deadline for mail ballot requests to ten days before an election rather than the existing seven-day deadline.
- SB 137/HB 835 requires the coordinator of elections to compare the statewide voter registration database with the department of safety database to ensure non-citizens are not registered. Current law already allows for this but does not make it mandatory.
- SB 2118/HB 2293 expands voter access for voters with visual and print disabilities by creating a new process for these voters to request their ballot by mail or online.