If you're a Tennessee college student and you want to vote in this year's Nov. 3 midterm elections, you have to act now before it's too late. The deadlines to register to vote or request an absentee ballot are earlier than you might think.
Students – and anyone who splits time between Knox County and somewhere else – have a unique choice for the November election: Vote back home or where you are now?
You don't get to decide on the spot, though.
The Oct. 5 voter registration deadline is coming up fast. And absentee ballot requests are due by Oct. 24.
We'll walk you through it!
What the law says about where to register to vote
The law says you must be a resident of Tennessee to vote here, but there's no requirement for how long you have to have been a resident or how much of the year you spend in
the state.
Voter registration law says "the residence of a person is the place where the person’s habitation is fixed and is where, during periods of absence, the person definitely intends to return."
You just can't be registered in two places, so you have to make a choice and get your paperwork submitted.
If you're unsure whether you qualify as a resident, go to sos.tn.gov for more details.
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If you want to vote here, follow these registration steps
- If you moved to campus and you want to vote in your new home, you can update your registration online, in-person or by mail. You can find instructions for all three methods at knoxvotes.org.
- Understand registering at your new address will cancel out your old registration.
- If you choose to register by mail or online instead of in-person, you must vote in person the first time. Find your polling place at knoxcounty.org/election.
- Tennessee has strict standards for voting absentee, so it could be difficult to register here and request an absentee ballot here. If you want to register here and see whether you qualify for absentee voting, check out knoxvotes.org.
- If you get registered at a voter registration drive on campus, you must vote in person or show the poll worker your ID before the election.
If you're from Tennessee and want to vote back home, here's what to do
If you want to vote in your home county and you're already registered there:
- Request an absentee ballot from your local election commission by Oct. 24. Just look up your county clerk and follow their instructions.
If you want to vote in your home county and you've never voted before:
- Tennessee law requires first-time voters to cast ballots in person, so you will have to get registered at that address and then travel there for early voting or on Election Day.
- You won't be able to vote absentee this year, but you can in the future after you get one in-person voting experience under your belt.
If you're from outside Tennessee and want to vote back home
If you want to vote in your home state:
- Each state has its own requirements and deadlines for registration and voting. Check with your state's secretary of state or local election authority's website to learn about their absentee ballot process, or you can use voting as an excuse for a trip home.
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: If you're weighing whether to vote here or somewhere else, these are the rules
