State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Tennessee > Title-2 > Chapter-5 > Part-2 > 2-5-208

2-5-208. Arrangement of material on ballots.

(a)  The requirements of this section apply to all ballots.

(b)  Immediately following the title of each office shall be printed the words “Vote for one (1),” “Vote for two (2),” according to the number to be elected.

(c)  (1)  The order of the titles of the offices to be filled or for which nominees are to be chosen shall be substantially as follows:

          (A)  Presidential and vice presidential electors;

          (B)  Governor;

          (C)  United States senate;

          (D)  United States house of representatives;

          (E)  Tennessee senate;

          (F)  Tennessee house of representatives;

          (G)  Supreme court judge;

          (H)  Court of appeals judge;

          (I)  Court of criminal appeals judge;

          (J)  Circuit court judge;

          (K)  Chancellor;

          (L)  Criminal court judge;

          (M)  District attorney general;

          (N)  Public defender;

          (O)  County mayors, including popularly elected mayors of metropolitan county governments;

          (P)  County legislative offices, including members of the county legislative bodies;

          (Q)  Assessor of property;

          (R)  County trustee;

          (S)  General sessions judge;

          (T)  Juvenile court judge;

          (U)  Sheriff;

          (V)  Clerks of courts;

          (W)  County clerk;

          (X)  Register;

          (Y)  Elective county department offices, including road superintendents or commissioners, school boards and purchasing agents;

          (Z)  Municipal executive offices;

          (AA)  Municipal legislative offices;

          (BB)  Municipal judicial offices; and

          (CC)  Offices which do not fall into any classification listed in this subdivision (c)(1).

     (2)  If several offices to be filled are within a single classification, they shall be arranged in alphabetical order.

     (3)  If any judicial offices listed in subdivision (c)(1) are to be placed on the ballot as a yes/no retention question, the question shall be placed at the end of the ballot.

(d)  (1)  On general election ballots, the name of each statewide political party having nominees on the ballot shall be listed at the top of the columns, with the listing of the candidates' names underneath. In such column for independent candidates, for the November 2000 general election, if the presidential candidate of a party which is not a statewide party received more than five thousand (5,000) votes in Tennessee in the November 1996 presidential election, then in addition to listing the name of a candidate who was nominated by such candidate's political party, the candidate may elect to have the candidate's party name included in the space allocated on the ballot for the candidate together with the name of such candidate. After the November 2000 general election, in order for these provisions to apply, the presidential candidate of a party which is not a statewide party must receive at least five percent (5%) of the votes cast in Tennessee in the last presidential election preceding the election in which the candidate seeks to have such candidate's party name included in such space on the ballot. The name of the political party may not be one which resembles that of any statewide political party. If the ballot arrangement established in this section will not fit on a voting machine ballot, the county election commission may arrange the ballot so that the voting machine will accommodate the entire ballot.

     (2)  On nonpartisan general election ballots and on the political party's primary ballot, the names of all candidates for the same office shall be arranged alphabetically according to the initials of their surnames, beginning with the first initial.

(e)  No number may be prefixed before or affixed after the names of candidates for any office so as to designate by number the order in which candidates' names are on the ballot for any office. The limitation set out in this subsection (e) does not prohibit the printing of numerals on the face of punch cards or ballots used with the microvote electronic voting system.

(f)  (1)  Whenever a question is submitted to the vote of the people, it shall be printed upon the ballot before or at the top right of the list of candidates, followed by the words “Yes” and “No,” so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word; provided, that whenever the question of a state constitutional amendment is submitted to the vote of the people pursuant to Tenn. Const., art. XI, § 3, para. 1, it shall be printed upon the ballot directly after the list of candidates for governor followed by the words “Yes” and “No” so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word. Any question submitted to the people shall be worded in such a manner that a “yes” vote would indicate support for the measure and a “no” vote would indicate opposition.

     (2)  If the full statement of a question is more than three hundred (300) words in length, the question shall be preceded by a brief summary of the proposal written in a clear and coherent manner using words with common everyday meanings. Such summary shall not exceed two hundred (200) words in length. The summary shall be written by the attorney general and reporter for questions submitted to the voters of the entire state or of more than one (1) county or by the county attorney of the county in which the question is to be voted upon for questions to be submitted to the voters of one (1) county or any part of a county. The summary for questions submitted to the voters of a municipality shall be written by the city attorney of the municipality in which the question is to be voted upon.

(g)  The ballot for each political party's presidential preference primary shall be headed “Candidates of the Party for President of the United States.” Beneath the heading shall be “I declare my preference for candidate for the office of President of the United States to be:” followed by the names of the candidates.

(h)  The names of presidential candidates shall be arranged according to political parties, and followed by the words, (giving the name) for president and (giving the name) for vice president. Names of electors need not appear on the ballot.

(i)  When there are so many candidates for an office that their names will not all fit either horizontally or vertically on the ballot with the name of the office, the names shall be listed in alphabetical rotation from left to right in each necessary row in the following manner:

Click to view table.

(j)  Each state primary board shall prescribe a color for its party's primary ballots which shall be uniform throughout the state and different from every other party's.

(k)  At the time of qualification for judge of the supreme court, the candidate shall state on the qualifying petition the grand division in which the candidate resides and the particular seat on the supreme court for which the candidate seeks election. The county election commission shall cause the names of the candidates to be arranged on the ballot so as to denote the grand division of the state for which they are seeking to be elected or whether they are candidates from the state at large by prefixing to the names of the candidates the words “eastern,” “western” or “middle” division or “the state at large.”

(l)  On ballots in a referendum election held by a local government, any question submitted to the vote of the people shall be printed followed by the words “Yes” and “No”, so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word. Any question submitted to the people shall be worded in such a manner that a “yes” vote would indicate support for the measure and a “no” vote would indicate opposition.

[Acts 1972, ch. 740, § 1; 1974, ch. 708, § 1; 1975, ch. 353, § 4; impl. am. Acts 1978, ch. 934, §§ 7, 22, 36; Acts 1978, ch. 934, § 29; T.C.A., §§ 2-308, 2-514; Acts 1981, ch. 110, § 1; 1981, ch. 246, § 1; 1981, ch. 300, § 1; 1983, ch. 20, § 1; 1988, ch. 672, § 3; 1990, ch. 628, § 5; 1995, ch. 305, § 56; 1996, ch. 574, § 1; 1997, ch. 331, § 2; 1997, ch. 558, § 5; 2000, ch. 756, §§ 9, 10, 11; 2000, ch. 883, § 2; 2003, ch. 90, § 2; 2003, ch. 183, § 1; 2007, ch. 125, § 9.]  

State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Tennessee > Title-2 > Chapter-5 > Part-2 > 2-5-208

2-5-208. Arrangement of material on ballots.

(a)  The requirements of this section apply to all ballots.

(b)  Immediately following the title of each office shall be printed the words “Vote for one (1),” “Vote for two (2),” according to the number to be elected.

(c)  (1)  The order of the titles of the offices to be filled or for which nominees are to be chosen shall be substantially as follows:

          (A)  Presidential and vice presidential electors;

          (B)  Governor;

          (C)  United States senate;

          (D)  United States house of representatives;

          (E)  Tennessee senate;

          (F)  Tennessee house of representatives;

          (G)  Supreme court judge;

          (H)  Court of appeals judge;

          (I)  Court of criminal appeals judge;

          (J)  Circuit court judge;

          (K)  Chancellor;

          (L)  Criminal court judge;

          (M)  District attorney general;

          (N)  Public defender;

          (O)  County mayors, including popularly elected mayors of metropolitan county governments;

          (P)  County legislative offices, including members of the county legislative bodies;

          (Q)  Assessor of property;

          (R)  County trustee;

          (S)  General sessions judge;

          (T)  Juvenile court judge;

          (U)  Sheriff;

          (V)  Clerks of courts;

          (W)  County clerk;

          (X)  Register;

          (Y)  Elective county department offices, including road superintendents or commissioners, school boards and purchasing agents;

          (Z)  Municipal executive offices;

          (AA)  Municipal legislative offices;

          (BB)  Municipal judicial offices; and

          (CC)  Offices which do not fall into any classification listed in this subdivision (c)(1).

     (2)  If several offices to be filled are within a single classification, they shall be arranged in alphabetical order.

     (3)  If any judicial offices listed in subdivision (c)(1) are to be placed on the ballot as a yes/no retention question, the question shall be placed at the end of the ballot.

(d)  (1)  On general election ballots, the name of each statewide political party having nominees on the ballot shall be listed at the top of the columns, with the listing of the candidates' names underneath. In such column for independent candidates, for the November 2000 general election, if the presidential candidate of a party which is not a statewide party received more than five thousand (5,000) votes in Tennessee in the November 1996 presidential election, then in addition to listing the name of a candidate who was nominated by such candidate's political party, the candidate may elect to have the candidate's party name included in the space allocated on the ballot for the candidate together with the name of such candidate. After the November 2000 general election, in order for these provisions to apply, the presidential candidate of a party which is not a statewide party must receive at least five percent (5%) of the votes cast in Tennessee in the last presidential election preceding the election in which the candidate seeks to have such candidate's party name included in such space on the ballot. The name of the political party may not be one which resembles that of any statewide political party. If the ballot arrangement established in this section will not fit on a voting machine ballot, the county election commission may arrange the ballot so that the voting machine will accommodate the entire ballot.

     (2)  On nonpartisan general election ballots and on the political party's primary ballot, the names of all candidates for the same office shall be arranged alphabetically according to the initials of their surnames, beginning with the first initial.

(e)  No number may be prefixed before or affixed after the names of candidates for any office so as to designate by number the order in which candidates' names are on the ballot for any office. The limitation set out in this subsection (e) does not prohibit the printing of numerals on the face of punch cards or ballots used with the microvote electronic voting system.

(f)  (1)  Whenever a question is submitted to the vote of the people, it shall be printed upon the ballot before or at the top right of the list of candidates, followed by the words “Yes” and “No,” so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word; provided, that whenever the question of a state constitutional amendment is submitted to the vote of the people pursuant to Tenn. Const., art. XI, § 3, para. 1, it shall be printed upon the ballot directly after the list of candidates for governor followed by the words “Yes” and “No” so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word. Any question submitted to the people shall be worded in such a manner that a “yes” vote would indicate support for the measure and a “no” vote would indicate opposition.

     (2)  If the full statement of a question is more than three hundred (300) words in length, the question shall be preceded by a brief summary of the proposal written in a clear and coherent manner using words with common everyday meanings. Such summary shall not exceed two hundred (200) words in length. The summary shall be written by the attorney general and reporter for questions submitted to the voters of the entire state or of more than one (1) county or by the county attorney of the county in which the question is to be voted upon for questions to be submitted to the voters of one (1) county or any part of a county. The summary for questions submitted to the voters of a municipality shall be written by the city attorney of the municipality in which the question is to be voted upon.

(g)  The ballot for each political party's presidential preference primary shall be headed “Candidates of the Party for President of the United States.” Beneath the heading shall be “I declare my preference for candidate for the office of President of the United States to be:” followed by the names of the candidates.

(h)  The names of presidential candidates shall be arranged according to political parties, and followed by the words, (giving the name) for president and (giving the name) for vice president. Names of electors need not appear on the ballot.

(i)  When there are so many candidates for an office that their names will not all fit either horizontally or vertically on the ballot with the name of the office, the names shall be listed in alphabetical rotation from left to right in each necessary row in the following manner:

Click to view table.

(j)  Each state primary board shall prescribe a color for its party's primary ballots which shall be uniform throughout the state and different from every other party's.

(k)  At the time of qualification for judge of the supreme court, the candidate shall state on the qualifying petition the grand division in which the candidate resides and the particular seat on the supreme court for which the candidate seeks election. The county election commission shall cause the names of the candidates to be arranged on the ballot so as to denote the grand division of the state for which they are seeking to be elected or whether they are candidates from the state at large by prefixing to the names of the candidates the words “eastern,” “western” or “middle” division or “the state at large.”

(l)  On ballots in a referendum election held by a local government, any question submitted to the vote of the people shall be printed followed by the words “Yes” and “No”, so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word. Any question submitted to the people shall be worded in such a manner that a “yes” vote would indicate support for the measure and a “no” vote would indicate opposition.

[Acts 1972, ch. 740, § 1; 1974, ch. 708, § 1; 1975, ch. 353, § 4; impl. am. Acts 1978, ch. 934, §§ 7, 22, 36; Acts 1978, ch. 934, § 29; T.C.A., §§ 2-308, 2-514; Acts 1981, ch. 110, § 1; 1981, ch. 246, § 1; 1981, ch. 300, § 1; 1983, ch. 20, § 1; 1988, ch. 672, § 3; 1990, ch. 628, § 5; 1995, ch. 305, § 56; 1996, ch. 574, § 1; 1997, ch. 331, § 2; 1997, ch. 558, § 5; 2000, ch. 756, §§ 9, 10, 11; 2000, ch. 883, § 2; 2003, ch. 90, § 2; 2003, ch. 183, § 1; 2007, ch. 125, § 9.]  


State Codes and Statutes

State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Tennessee > Title-2 > Chapter-5 > Part-2 > 2-5-208

2-5-208. Arrangement of material on ballots.

(a)  The requirements of this section apply to all ballots.

(b)  Immediately following the title of each office shall be printed the words “Vote for one (1),” “Vote for two (2),” according to the number to be elected.

(c)  (1)  The order of the titles of the offices to be filled or for which nominees are to be chosen shall be substantially as follows:

          (A)  Presidential and vice presidential electors;

          (B)  Governor;

          (C)  United States senate;

          (D)  United States house of representatives;

          (E)  Tennessee senate;

          (F)  Tennessee house of representatives;

          (G)  Supreme court judge;

          (H)  Court of appeals judge;

          (I)  Court of criminal appeals judge;

          (J)  Circuit court judge;

          (K)  Chancellor;

          (L)  Criminal court judge;

          (M)  District attorney general;

          (N)  Public defender;

          (O)  County mayors, including popularly elected mayors of metropolitan county governments;

          (P)  County legislative offices, including members of the county legislative bodies;

          (Q)  Assessor of property;

          (R)  County trustee;

          (S)  General sessions judge;

          (T)  Juvenile court judge;

          (U)  Sheriff;

          (V)  Clerks of courts;

          (W)  County clerk;

          (X)  Register;

          (Y)  Elective county department offices, including road superintendents or commissioners, school boards and purchasing agents;

          (Z)  Municipal executive offices;

          (AA)  Municipal legislative offices;

          (BB)  Municipal judicial offices; and

          (CC)  Offices which do not fall into any classification listed in this subdivision (c)(1).

     (2)  If several offices to be filled are within a single classification, they shall be arranged in alphabetical order.

     (3)  If any judicial offices listed in subdivision (c)(1) are to be placed on the ballot as a yes/no retention question, the question shall be placed at the end of the ballot.

(d)  (1)  On general election ballots, the name of each statewide political party having nominees on the ballot shall be listed at the top of the columns, with the listing of the candidates' names underneath. In such column for independent candidates, for the November 2000 general election, if the presidential candidate of a party which is not a statewide party received more than five thousand (5,000) votes in Tennessee in the November 1996 presidential election, then in addition to listing the name of a candidate who was nominated by such candidate's political party, the candidate may elect to have the candidate's party name included in the space allocated on the ballot for the candidate together with the name of such candidate. After the November 2000 general election, in order for these provisions to apply, the presidential candidate of a party which is not a statewide party must receive at least five percent (5%) of the votes cast in Tennessee in the last presidential election preceding the election in which the candidate seeks to have such candidate's party name included in such space on the ballot. The name of the political party may not be one which resembles that of any statewide political party. If the ballot arrangement established in this section will not fit on a voting machine ballot, the county election commission may arrange the ballot so that the voting machine will accommodate the entire ballot.

     (2)  On nonpartisan general election ballots and on the political party's primary ballot, the names of all candidates for the same office shall be arranged alphabetically according to the initials of their surnames, beginning with the first initial.

(e)  No number may be prefixed before or affixed after the names of candidates for any office so as to designate by number the order in which candidates' names are on the ballot for any office. The limitation set out in this subsection (e) does not prohibit the printing of numerals on the face of punch cards or ballots used with the microvote electronic voting system.

(f)  (1)  Whenever a question is submitted to the vote of the people, it shall be printed upon the ballot before or at the top right of the list of candidates, followed by the words “Yes” and “No,” so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word; provided, that whenever the question of a state constitutional amendment is submitted to the vote of the people pursuant to Tenn. Const., art. XI, § 3, para. 1, it shall be printed upon the ballot directly after the list of candidates for governor followed by the words “Yes” and “No” so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word. Any question submitted to the people shall be worded in such a manner that a “yes” vote would indicate support for the measure and a “no” vote would indicate opposition.

     (2)  If the full statement of a question is more than three hundred (300) words in length, the question shall be preceded by a brief summary of the proposal written in a clear and coherent manner using words with common everyday meanings. Such summary shall not exceed two hundred (200) words in length. The summary shall be written by the attorney general and reporter for questions submitted to the voters of the entire state or of more than one (1) county or by the county attorney of the county in which the question is to be voted upon for questions to be submitted to the voters of one (1) county or any part of a county. The summary for questions submitted to the voters of a municipality shall be written by the city attorney of the municipality in which the question is to be voted upon.

(g)  The ballot for each political party's presidential preference primary shall be headed “Candidates of the Party for President of the United States.” Beneath the heading shall be “I declare my preference for candidate for the office of President of the United States to be:” followed by the names of the candidates.

(h)  The names of presidential candidates shall be arranged according to political parties, and followed by the words, (giving the name) for president and (giving the name) for vice president. Names of electors need not appear on the ballot.

(i)  When there are so many candidates for an office that their names will not all fit either horizontally or vertically on the ballot with the name of the office, the names shall be listed in alphabetical rotation from left to right in each necessary row in the following manner:

Click to view table.

(j)  Each state primary board shall prescribe a color for its party's primary ballots which shall be uniform throughout the state and different from every other party's.

(k)  At the time of qualification for judge of the supreme court, the candidate shall state on the qualifying petition the grand division in which the candidate resides and the particular seat on the supreme court for which the candidate seeks election. The county election commission shall cause the names of the candidates to be arranged on the ballot so as to denote the grand division of the state for which they are seeking to be elected or whether they are candidates from the state at large by prefixing to the names of the candidates the words “eastern,” “western” or “middle” division or “the state at large.”

(l)  On ballots in a referendum election held by a local government, any question submitted to the vote of the people shall be printed followed by the words “Yes” and “No”, so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word. Any question submitted to the people shall be worded in such a manner that a “yes” vote would indicate support for the measure and a “no” vote would indicate opposition.

[Acts 1972, ch. 740, § 1; 1974, ch. 708, § 1; 1975, ch. 353, § 4; impl. am. Acts 1978, ch. 934, §§ 7, 22, 36; Acts 1978, ch. 934, § 29; T.C.A., §§ 2-308, 2-514; Acts 1981, ch. 110, § 1; 1981, ch. 246, § 1; 1981, ch. 300, § 1; 1983, ch. 20, § 1; 1988, ch. 672, § 3; 1990, ch. 628, § 5; 1995, ch. 305, § 56; 1996, ch. 574, § 1; 1997, ch. 331, § 2; 1997, ch. 558, § 5; 2000, ch. 756, §§ 9, 10, 11; 2000, ch. 883, § 2; 2003, ch. 90, § 2; 2003, ch. 183, § 1; 2007, ch. 125, § 9.]