For most of the country, elections are on Tuesdays, a tradition that started in the 1800s because it was convenient for farmers.
But if you've been paying attention to local news, you already know Tennessee is an exception for one specific race – and it's happening this week.
Nine states hold primaries on days that aren't Tuesday. Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Idaho, Louisiana and Oregon all have Wednesday elections, and Hawaii and Rhode Island have their state primary elections on Saturdays.
Tennessee is the only one to send primary voters to the polls on Thursday, and it's always been that way.
Why are Tennessee's primary elections on Thursday?
We don't know, but apparently the Thursday election date was so important it survived all three iterations of Tennessee's constitution. In 1796, 1834 and
1870, state leaders affirmed voters should cast primary ballots on Thursdays and not Tuesdays.
Specifically, voters must cast ballots on the first Thursday in August. Nicholas Fandos of Politico reported in 2014 that Charles Sherrill, a Tennessee state librarian and archivist, has unsuccessfully looked for a reason.
“I can’t find any rationale for why Thursday was in there,” Sherill told Politico.
Knox County Elections Administrator Chris Davis told Knox News the Thursday scheduling has always stumped him, too.
"I have my own theories," Davis said. "My guess is it has something to do with the agrarian nature of Tennessee. Maybe farmers were coming into town to sell produce so they can just stay over and vote the next day."
Sales happened on Wednesdays, which was a factor in how Tuesdays were selected on the national level.
What about city of Knoxville elections?
There are no state and federal elections in Tennessee during odd-numbered years, but cities like Knoxville have their elections in odd-numbered years. Those elections are on Tuesdays.
If Knoxville wanted to change its election schedule, voters could do so in a ballot referendum. If voters in a city that doesn't have its own charter like Knoxville wanted to change their election schedule, the legislature would have to do it for them.
Should all elections be aligned?
That's been a topic of conversation over the years.
Right now, voters who live in Knoxville have an election every year. Knoxville voters chose district city councilmembers in 2025. They're choosing county, state and federal officials in 2026, and they'll chose a city mayor, at-large councilmembers and judge in 2027. Then they'll vote on a different set of county offices in 2028 before the cycle starts over in 2029.
Republican legislators say the annual elections are too much for voters and cost too much to put on, while others say separating city elections helps keep them truly nonpartisan.
State Sen. Richard Briggs in 2026 sponsored legislationto change all city elections to align with county and state election years, but it didn't pass.
Even if the state moves city elections to align with the year state and federal elections are held, they can't move the state and federal primary elections from Thursday to Tuesday. That would require voters to approve a constitutional amendment.
Who sets federal election dates?
Unlike state primary dates that have flexibility, federal election days are set by Congress.
An 1845 law established that the presidential and congressional election days for all states will be the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years. That means the federal general election day will never fall out of the Nov. 2 through Nov. 8 window.
Primary elections are a different story.
The federal government doesn't have a role in scheduling elections for nonfederal offices, but many states aligned their elections with federal elections for convenience, according to a 2000 report from the Congressional Research Service.
Allie Feinberg is the politics reporter for Knox News. Email: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com; Reddit: u/KnoxNewsAllie
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: The mysterious history behind Tennessee's Thursday elections
