2-7-114 - Voting by paper ballots. - Tennessee Statutes

2-7-114. Voting by paper ballots.

(a)  When the voter is to vote by paper ballot, the voter shall then present the ballot application to the judge who is in charge of paper ballots. The judge shall write the ballot number of each ballot the voter is entitled to on the ballot application, give the ballot or ballots to the voter, and give the ballot application to the judge who is assigned to deposit ballots in the ballot box. The judge shall, upon demand of any voter at the time the voter receives the ballot, tell the voter the order of the offices on the ballot.

(b)  (1)  The voter shall then go to a place where the voter may mark the ballot in complete secrecy and privacy and shall prepare the ballot by making in the appropriate place a cross (X) or other mark opposite the name of the candidate of the voter's choice for each office to be filled, or by filling in the name of the candidate of the voter's choice in the blank space provided, and by making a cross (X) or other mark opposite the answer the voter desires to give on each question. Before leaving the place of secrecy and privacy, the voter shall fold the ballot so that the votes cannot be seen but so that the information printed on the back of the ballot and the numbered stub are plainly visible.

     (2)  Any voter who fills in or writes in the name of a candidate whose name is not printed on the ballot shall not be required to make a cross (X) or other mark next to such person's name in order for the vote to be counted.

(c)  (1)  The voter shall state the voter's name and present the folded ballot to the judge assigned to receive and deposit the ballots. The judge shall compare the ballot number on the stub with the ballot number on the voter's ballot application. If the ballot numbers are the same, the judge shall tear off and destroy the stub and deposit the ballot in the ballot box unless the voter is successfully challenged. The judge shall file all ballot applications in the order in which they are received.

     (2)  If the voter is voting pursuant to § 2-7-112(a)(3), the voter shall state the voter's name and present the folded ballot to the judge assigned to receive and deposit the provisional ballots. The judge shall compare the provisional ballot number on the stub with the provisional ballot number on the voter's ballot application. The judge shall file all ballot applications in the order in which they are received. If the provisional ballot numbers are the same, the judge shall tear off and destroy the provisional ballot stub and deposit the provisional ballot in the provisional ballot envelope which contains the provisional ballot affidavit. The judge shall assure that the provisional ballot affidavit has been completed and signed by the voter. The provisional ballot, in its envelope, shall be deposited in an absentee ballot box that satisfies the requirements of the absentee ballot boxes and has been locked pursuant to § 2-6-311.

[Acts 1972, ch. 740, § 1; T.C.A., § 2-714; Acts 1981, ch. 478, § 17; 1997, ch. 558, § 16; 2003, ch. 352, § 4.]