Voter Registration

There is no more important responsibility of citizenship than voting! If you are not yet registered to vote, you are welcome to register in person at the Perry County Election Commission Office at 133 Factory Street in Linden. You can also Register to Vote online with the State of Tennessee. Click this link to Register to Vote.

To become a Registered Voter, you must be at least 18 years old at the time of the next election. You MUST NOT have been convicted of a felony unless you have had your voting rights restored if you have been convicted. You must be a United States citizen. You must live in Tennessee. All voter registrations must be complete at least 30 days prior to the upcoming election in order to vote.

To exercise your right to vote at the poll either on Election Day or during early voting you must produce a Tennessee Driver License or a Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Identification or United States Passport or a photo ID issued by the federal or Tennessee state government or US military photo ID or Tennessee handgun carry permit with a photo.

Voter Eligibility

To be eligible to vote in Tennessee:

• You must be a citizen of the United States.
• You must be (18) years of age or older on or before the date of the next election.
• You must be a resident of Tennessee. View Guidelines for Determining Residency and special considerations for Homeless Persons Residency and Non-resident Property Owners.  
• If you have been convicted of a felony, your eligibility to register and vote depends upon the crime you were convicted of and the date of your conviction. If your conviction made you ineligible, you may regain your eligibility if your conviction has been expunged or if you have had your voting rights restored, unless you were convicted of a crime that rendered you permanently ineligible to vote. View Eligibility to Vote after a Felony Conviction.  

In order to participate in an election, a qualified voter must be properly registered no later than thirty (30) days before the election. The election commission office will process any by-mail voter registration form that has been postmarked at least thirty (30) days before the election. T.C.A 2-2-109.

How to Register to Vote

• Use online voter registration to conveniently register to vote or update your voter registration or visit our offices at 113 Factory St., Linden, TN 37096.
• Download and complete the Voter Registration Application and mail the application to your county election commission.  A sample pdf version of the form is available for download by click on the image to the right.
• Pick up voter registration applications in person at the following locations:
  • County Election Commission Offices
  • County Clerk’s Offices
  • Public Libraries
  • Register of Deeds Offices
• Register during a transaction with one of the following agencies:
  • Department of Health (WIC program)
  • Department of Human Services
  • Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
  • Department of Mental Health
  • Department of Safety (motor vehicles division)
  • Department of Veteran’s Affairs

Running for Office

A run for office begins with picking up an official petition to have your name placed on the ballot. This is available at the Election Commission. You will need to find registered voters within the district you plan to run to sign the petition to get your name on the ballot.

Different positions may have different qualifications such as a minimum age or a certain type of education and have a requirement to obtain different numbers of signatures. The Election Commission can provide you with a list of these requirements. Petitions for the August Ballot become available in March and the absolute deadline to return a petition to the Election Commission Office is NOT LATER THAN NOON on April 5.

How to Vote

Most people enjoy the excitement of voting on the actual election day. Every voter who is voting in person on election day or during early voting MUST present a Tennessee Driver’s License photo id OR a Tennessee Safety and Homeland Security photo id.

However, there are other options: View them HERE.

Early Voting – Early Voting is done in person at the Election Commission. During Early Voting the Office is open from 9 a.m. until 4 pm Monday – Friday (The Office closes from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. for lunch). Early Voting takes place in roughly the last 2 weeks of July prior to the August election and the last 2 weeks of October prior to the November elections. Call the Election Commission for exact dates of Early Voting.

Absentee Voting – Under some circumstances registered voters may request a paper ballot to be mailed to them and is returned to the Election Commission by United States Mail. The first day to request a ballot is 90 days before the election and the last date to request a ballot is 7 days prior to election day. All ballots must be received by the Perry County Election Commission via United States mail not later than the close of the voting polls of the election day.

Download Absentee Request Form | Military/Overseas Absentee Request Information

You can vote absentee by-mail if you fall under one of the following categories:

• You will be outside the county where you are registered during the early voting period and all day on Election Day.
• You or your spouse are a full-time student in an accredited college or university outside the county where you are registered.
• You are on the permanent absentee list (see question 4 below).
• You reside in a nursing home, assisted living facility or home for the aged outside your county of residence.
• You will be unable to vote in-person due to jury duty.
• You are sixty (60) years of age or older.
• You have a physical disability and an inaccessible polling place.
• You are hospitalized, ill or physically disabled and unable to appear at your polling place to vote; and/or you have determined it is impossible or unreasonable to vote in-person due to the COVID-19 situation.
• You are the caretaker of a person who is hospitalized, ill, or disabled, and/or you have determined it is impossible or unreasonable to vote in-person due to the COVID-19 situation.
• You are a candidate for office in the election.
• You serve as an Election Day official or as a member or employee of the election commission.
• You are observing a religious holiday that prevents you from voting in person during the early voting period and on Election Day.
• You or your spouse possess a valid commercial drivers license (CDL) or Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card and you will be working outside the state or county of registration during the open hours of early voting and Election Day and have no specific out-of-county or out-of-state address to which mail may be sent or received during such time.
• You are a member of the military or are an overseas citizen. read more …

You must submit a written request containing the information below to the Perry County Election Commission office by the seventh day before Election Day. You can use the absentee ballot request form to make sure all required information is provided.

You can submit your written request for an absentee ballot by mail, fax, or e-mail. If emailing your request, be sure the attached document contains the information below and your scanned signature.

1. Name of the registered voter
2. Address of the voter’s residence
3. Voter’s social security number
4. Voter’s date of birth
5. Address to mail the ballot
6. The election in which the voter wishes to participate. If the election involves a primary, the political party in which the voter wishes to participate.
7. Reason the voter wishes to vote absentee. If applicable, a copy of the CDL containing the CDL number or the TWIC card must be included in the voter’s request.
8. Voter’s signature

A request that contains this information will be processed and a ballot will be mailed to the voter.

NOTICE: A person who is not an employee of an election commission commits a Class E felony if such person gives an application for an absentee ballot to any person or commits a Class A misdemeanor if such person gives an unsolicited request for application for absentee ballot to any person. T.C.A. § 2-6-202(c)(3) and (4).

The county election commission will return the application to you so you can make corrections and resubmit your application.

You will receive an application for ballot for each election if your licensed physician signs a statement  stating that, in their judgment, you are medically unable to vote in person. The statement must be filed not less than seven (7) days before the election and signed under the penalty of perjury.

You may request an absentee by-mail ballot no earlier than ninety (90) days before the election and no later than seven (7) days before the election. To be processed for the next election, the application must be received by the election commission no later than seven (7) days before the election.

The deadline for the August 6 election is Thursday, July 30.

Requests for the November presidential election cannot be received until August 5.

You should notify your county election commission.

You must mail your ballot in time for your county election commission to receive it no later than the close of polls on Election Day.  You cannot drop off your ballot, but mailed in.  This means it must go to Nashville first and then returned to be counted in a national election.

No. You must return your ballot by mail (USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc.).  Be sure to allocate plenty of time for the US Post Service and to allow for delays that may be incurred.

Unless you are on the permanent absentee voting register or enrolled in the Safe at Home program, you must appear in-person to vote in the first election after you have registered by mail. If you have already voted in-person since you registered, then no additional information will be required to vote by mail.

Your Representatives are elected based on the District in which you are registered to vote. Finding your Precinct/Voting Place and the District you are in is easy using the State of Tennessee’s online look-up:

Find My Precinct

The following link will let you see who represents you in the Perry County Commission:

Find My Commission District

The following link lets you find your State of Tennessee House and Senate members:

Find My State Representative

Find My State Senator

Use the following link to find who represents your interest at the United States Congress:

Find Your Representative

Who are our U.S. Senators?

Contact the Election Commission office at 113 Factory St. in Linden, either in person or by phone, and indicate a desire to be a poll worker.  The requirements to be a poll worker are as follows:

• You must be registered to vote in Perry County to work on Election Day

• Note: This voter registration requirement does not apply to poll workers under the age of 18.

Hours and Compensation:

• Start Time:   8:00 AM
• End Time:   Approximately 7:30 PM
• Compensation:   $75 for Election Day; $25 for training

• You must work the full day.

Work Requirements:

• Minimum Age: 16-year-old county residents

• You must complete training for each election.

• Training Details: In person training typically lasts 30 to 45 minutes.