Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Tennessee

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Note: This article is not intended to serve as an exhaustive guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.

In order to get on the ballot in Tennessee, a candidate for state or federal office must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level. A candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election.

There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a candidate for office in a state.

  1. An individual can seek the nomination of a state-recognized political party.
  2. An individual can run as an independent. Independent candidates often must petition in order to have their names printed on the general election ballot.
  3. An individual can run as a write-in candidate.

This article outlines the steps that prospective candidates for state-level and congressional office must take in order to run for office in Tennessee. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, click here. Information about filing requirements for local-level offices is not available in this article (contact state election agencies for information about local candidate filing processes).

DocumentIcon.jpg See state election laws

Year-specific filing information

2024

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2024 U.S. Congress elections and Tennessee elections, 2024

U.S. Senate

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Tennessee in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Tennessee, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2024
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Tennessee U.S. Senate All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/4/2024 Source

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Tennessee in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Tennessee, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Tennessee U.S. House All candidates 25 N/A 4/4/2024 Source


For filing information from previous years, click "[Show more]" below.

Show more

2022

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2022 U.S. Congress elections and Tennessee elections, 2022

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Tennessee in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Tennessee, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Tennessee U.S. House All candidates 25 N/A 4/7/2022 Source

Governor

The table below details filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates in Tennessee in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Tennessee, click here.

Filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source Notes
Tennessee Governor All candidates 25 N/A 4/7/2022 Source

2020

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2020 U.S. Congress elections and Tennessee elections, 2020

U.S. Senate

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Tennessee in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Tennessee, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Tennessee U.S. Senate All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/2/2020 Source

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Tennessee in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Tennessee, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Tennessee 1st Congressional District All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/2/2020 Source
Tennessee 2nd Congressional District All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/2/2020 Source
Tennessee 3rd Congressional District All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/2/2020 Source
Tennessee 4th Congressional District All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/2/2020 Source
Tennessee 5th Congressional District All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/2/2020 Source
Tennessee 6th Congressional District All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/2/2020 Source
Tennessee 7th Congressional District All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/2/2020 Source
Tennessee 8th Congressional District All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/2/2020 Source
Tennessee 9th Congressional District All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/2/2020 Source

State House

The table below details filing requirements for Tennessee House of Representatives candidates in the 2020 election cycle.

Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020
Chamber name Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Tennessee House of Representatives All candidates 25 N/A 4/2/2020 Source

State Senate

The table below details filing requirements for Tennessee State Senate candidates in the 2020 election cycle.

Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020
Chamber name Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Tennessee State Senate All candidates 25 N/A 4/2/2020 Source

2018

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2018 U.S. Congress elections and Tennessee elections, 2018

See below for 2018 candidate filing deadlines.

April 5, 2018

2016

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2016 U.S. Congress elections and Tennessee elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Tennessee in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline Event type Event description
December 1, 2015 Ballot access Filing deadline for presidential primary candidates
February 23, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-primary campaign financial disclosure reports for March county primary due
March 1, 2016 Election date Presidential preference primary election
April 7, 2016 Ballot access Filing deadline for partisan primary candidates and independent general election candidates
April 11, 2016 Campaign finance First quarter campaign financial disclosure reports due
April 26, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-primary campaign financial disclosure reports for May primary due
May 3, 2016 Election date County primary election (if applicable)
July 11, 2016 Campaign finance Second quarter campaign financial disclosure reports due
July 28, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-primary campaign financial disclosure reports for August primary due
July 28, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-general campaign financial disclosure reports for August general due
August 4, 2016 Election date State primary and county general election (if applicable)
October 11, 2016 Campaign finance Third quarter campaign financial disclosure reports due
November 1, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-general campaign financial disclosure reports for November general due
November 8, 2016 Election date General election
January 25, 2017 Campaign finance Fourth quarter campaign financial disclosure reports due
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State, "2016 Election Calendar," accessed June 12, 2015

2015


2014


Process to become a candidate

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Chapter 2-5 and Chapter 2-7 of the Tennessee Code

State legislative candidates

A candidate running for the state legislature, whether partisan or independent, must adhere to the same ballot access requirements, which are detailed below.

  1. The candidate must obtain a nominating petition from a county election commission office or the office of the state coordinator of elections.[3][4]
  2. The nominating petition must be signed by the candidate and at least 25 voters who are registered in the candidate's district.[3][4]
  3. The signer of a petition must include the address shown on his or her voter registration card in order for his or her signature to be counted.[4]
  4. The candidate must file the original nominating petition in the office of the county election commission by the first Thursday of April in his or her county of residence. The candidate must also file a certified duplicate in the county election commission office in each county wholly or partially within the candidate's district. This requirement applies to both political party candidates running in the primary and independent candidates running in the general election.[3][4]
  5. There are no filing fees.

Federal and statewide office

A partisan or independent candidate for governor, United States Representative, or United States Senator must obtain a nominating petition from a county election commission office or the office of the state coordinator of elections.[5][6]

  1. The nominating petition must be signed by at least 25 voters who are registered anywhere in Tennessee.[5][7]
  2. The signer of a petition must include the address shown on his or her voter registration card in order for the signature to be counted.[4]
  3. The candidate must file the nominating petition no later than noon on the first Thursday of April.[5][7]
  4. The candidate must file the original nominating petition in the office of the Tennessee State Election Commission. The candidate must also file a certified duplicate in the office of the state coordinator of elections. Both of these must be received by the qualifying deadline.[5][7]
  5. There are no filing fees.

For write-in candidates

In order to have his or her votes tallied, a write-in candidate must file a certificate of write-in candidacy no later than noon on the 50th day before the general election in each county that makes up the district of the listed office. For the offices of governor, United States Senator, and United States Representative, this form must be filed with the Tennessee Coordinator of Elections.[8][9]

Petition requirements

See also: Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Chapter 2-5 of the Tennessee Code

In some cases, candidates may need to obtain signatures via the petition process to gain access to the ballot. This section outlines the laws and regulations pertaining to petitions and circulators in Tennessee.

Nominating petitions shall not be issued by any administrator, deputy, county election commissioner, or employee of the coordinator's office more than 60 days before the qualifying deadline for the office for which the petition is issued. In any year where reapportionment must occur, the coordinator of elections shall determine the earliest date on which petitions may be issued.[10][11]

The relevant statutes do not address petition circulator requirements.

Election-related agencies

See also: State election agencies

Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections

312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue
9th Floor, William Snodgrass Tower
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0309
Phone: 615-741-7956
Toll-free: 1-877-850-4959
Email: tennessee.elections@tn.gov
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Term limits

State executives

State Executive Officials
See also: State executives with term limits and States with gubernatorial term limits

The state executive term limits in Tennessee are as follows:[12]

  • The governor must wait four years and/or one full term before becoming eligible to serve again after serving two consecutive terms.
  • The attorney general is appointed by the State Supreme Court for a term of eight years.

State legislators

See also: State legislatures with term limits

There are no term limits placed on Tennessee state legislators.

Congressional partisanship

Portal:Legislative Branch
See also: List of United States Representatives from Tennessee and List of United States Senators from Tennessee

Below is the current partisan breakdown of the congressional delegation from Tennessee.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Tennessee
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 1 1
Republican 2 8 10
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 9 11

State legislative partisanship

Portal:State legislatures

Below is the current partisan breakdown of the state legislature of Tennessee.

Tennessee State Senate

Party As of March 2025
     Democratic Party 6
     Republican Party 27
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 33

Tennessee House of Representatives

Party As of March 2025
     Democratic Party 24
     Republican Party 75
     Independent 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 99

Noteworthy events

2018

On April 2, 2018, Governor Bill Haslam (R) signed SB 2497 into law. The legislation, upon enactment, reduced the candidate qualifying period from 90 days to 60 days. The legislation cleared the Tennessee State Senate on March 1, 2018, by a vote of 26-2. On March 19, 2018, the Tennessee House of Representatives approved the legislation by a vote of 77-16 (with one member present and not voting).[11][13]

Related legislation

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The table below lists bills related to ballot access requirements for candidates that have been introduced during (or carried over to) the current legislative session in Tennessee. The following information is included for each bill:

  • State
  • Bill number
  • Official bill name or caption
  • Most recent action date
  • Legislative status
  • Sponsor party
  • Topics dealt with by the bill

Bills are organized by most recent action. The table displays up to 100 results. To view more bills, use the arrows in the upper-right corner. Clicking on a bill will open its page on Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.

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See also

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External links

Official state and federal links

Other information

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2014 Candidate Dates," accessed November 4, 2013
  2. ↑ Phone with Tennessee Secretary of State, October 9, 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Tennessee Department of Elections, "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for Tennessee House of Representatives," accessed October 31, 2013
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Tennessee Code, "Chapter 2-5-101," accessed February 22, 2014
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Tennessee Department of Elections, "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for Governor," accessed November 26, 2013
  6. ↑ Tennessee Code, "Chapter 2-5-103," accessed February 24, 2014
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Tennessee Secretary of State, "Tennessee Candidates for United States Senate," accessed February 25, 2014
  8. ↑ Tennessee Department of Elections, "Write-In Candidacy," accessed October 31, 2013
  9. ↑ Tennessee Code, "Chapter 2-7-133," accessed February 24, 2014
  10. ↑ Tennessee Code, "Chapter 2-5-102," accessed February 26, 2014
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Ballot Access News, "Tennessee Shrinks Petitioning Period for Candidate Petitions," April 29, 2018
  12. ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State "Tennessee Constitution," accessed November 4, 2013
  13. ↑ Tennessee General Assembly, "SB 2497," accessed April 30, 2018
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