Tennessee elections, 2012

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The state of Tennessee held elections in 2012. Below are the dates of note:

• Signature filing deadline: April 5, 2012
• Primary date: August 2, 2012
• General election date: November 6, 2012

On the 2012 ballot			Click here for all November 6, 2012 Election Results
U.S. Senate (1 seat)	a	Preview Article
U.S. House (9 seats)	a
State Executives	d	N/A
State Senate (16 seats)	a	Preview Article
State House (99 seats)	a
Ballot measures (0 measures)	d	N/A

2012 Elections

Note: Election information listed on this page does not pertain to 2012 presidential elections. For more about Ballotpedia's areas of coverage, click here.
For election results in the 50 states, see our November 6, 2012 election results page

U.S. Senate

See also: United States Senate elections in Tennessee, 2012

U.S. Senate, Tennessee General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Corker Incumbent	64.9%	1,506,443
	Democratic	Mark E. Clayton	30.4%	705,882
	Constitution	Kermit Steck	0.8%	18,620
	Green	Martin Pleasant	1.7%	38,472
	Libertarian	Shaun E. Crowell	0.9%	20,936
	Independent	David Gatchell	0.3%	6,523
	Independent	Michael Joseph Long	0.3%	8,085
	Independent	Troy Stephen Scoggin	0.3%	8,080
Total Votes				2,320,189
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

U.S. House

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2012

Members of the U.S. House from Tennessee -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	2	2
	Republican Party	7	7
Total		9	9

State Senate

See also: Tennessee State Senate elections, 2012

Heading into the election, Republicans maintained partisan control in the state senate.

Tennessee State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	13	7
	Republican Party	20	26
Total		33	33

State House

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2012

Heading into the election, Republicans maintained partisan control in the state house.

Tennessee House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	34	27
	Republican Party	64	71
	Independent	0	1
	Vacancy	1	0
Total		99	99

Eligibility to Vote

Primary election

See also: Voting in the 2012 primary elections

Tennessee was one of 16 states to use an open primary system. Voters were required to register to vote in the primary by July 3, 2012, which was 30 days before the primary took place. (Information about registering to vote)

General election

See also: Voting in the 2012 general elections

The deadline to register to vote was 29 days prior to the election day, which in 2012 was October 8.

• Voter ID info
• Residency requirements: Resident
• Same-day registration: None

Voting absentee

See also: Absentee Voting

Only certain voters may vote absentee by-mail in Tennessee. According to the Tennessee secretary of state's office:

“

You can vote absentee by-mail if you fall under one of the following categories: You are sixty (60) years of age or older. You will be outside the county where you are registered during the early voting period and all day on Election Day. You are hospitalized, ill or physically disabled and unable to appear at your polling place to vote. A physician’s statement is not required to check this box. You are the caretaker of a person who is hospitalized, ill, or disabled. A physician’s statement is not required to check this box. You or your spouse are a full-time student in an accredited college or university outside the county where you are registered. You reside in a nursing home, assisted living facility or home for the aged outside your county of residence. You are a candidate for office in the election. You are observing a religious holiday that prevents you from voting in person during the early voting period and on Election Day. You serve as an Election Day official or as a member or employee of the election commission. You will be unable to vote in-person due to jury duty. You have a physical disability and an inaccessible polling place. You or your spouse possess a valid commercial drivers license (CDL) or Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card and you will be working outside the state or county of registration during the open hours of early voting and Election Day and have no specific out-of-county or out-of-state address to which mail may be sent or received during such time. You are a member of the military or are an overseas citizen. You are on the permanent absentee list. NOTE: If you reside in a licensed nursing home, assisted living facility, home for the aged, or an independent living facility on the same property as a licensed nursing home, assisted living facility, or home for the aged inside your county of residence, you may not vote absentee by-mail. Election officials will come to the facility to vote eligible residents, or you may vote during early voting or on Election Day.

”

Absentee ballot applications may not be submitted more than 90 days before an election and must be received by the county election commission no later than 10 days before an election. The completed ballot must be returned by mail and received by the county election commission by the close of polls on Election Day.

Voting early

See also: Early voting

Tennessee is one of 34 states that has early voting with no specific requirements as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 20 days before Election Day and ends five days prior. The average number of days prior to an election that voters can cast an early ballot is 21 days in states with a definitive starting date.

See also

• Statewide elections, 2012
• 2012 election dates
• Election result resources
• Voter guides
• State Blue Books
• State Poll Opening and Closing Times (2012)
• Voting in Tennessee
• Absentee voting
• Early voting