Leading Tennessee early voter surge, Shelby Co. tops a quarter million votes, 56% increase

This story has been updated to reflect the correct number of total Shelby County voters in 2016.

The number of Tennessee voters who cast their ballots early jumped by 40% on average across the state from Oct. 14 to Oct. 24, in comparison to early turnout in the first 10 days of the 2016 general election, Tennessee Secretary of State data shows.

In three counties, Carter, Haywood and Franklin, the number of early voters increased by only a single digit. Otherwise, in the remainder of the state's 95 counties, Tennessee residents cast early votes in substantially greater numbers than in 2016. 

Union County, north of Knoxville, saw the largest increase, of 88%, in early voters. Among the "Big Four" counties — home to Tennessee's four major metropolitan areas — the largest increase in early voters was in Shelby County, where Memphis is located.

A predominantly Black county with the largest population in the state, Shelby County also turned out the greatest total number of voters, 251,666, within the first 10 days of voting, according to Tennessee Secretary of State data.

Compared to prior turnout in 2016 and the number of registered voters as of Oct. 1, 2020, according to Shelby County Election Commission data, the 251,666 early votes cast in Shelby Co. between Oct. 14 to Oct. 24 represent:

• A 56% increase in early voting since 2016, when the 10-day total was 161,230 
• 74% of the total number of all votes cast in 2016, according to Shelby Co. Election Commission data which shows a total of 341,731 votes recorded in the general election that year
• 63% of the total number of all votes cast in 2008, which saw the highest turnout in recent years, according to Shelby Co. Election Commission data which shows a total of 398,163 votes recorded in the general election that year
• 43% of the total number of 590,726 registered Shelby Co. voters as of the election commission's most recent report, Oct. 1

In line with the trend statewide, the vast majority of Shelby residents cast their early vote at one of the county's 26 early polling places. Two sites in the 38117 zip code, a swath of town encompassing portions of East Memphis and the University of Memphis area, brought in the most votes, by a margin of nearly 6,000 votes.

How to vote

All of Shelby County's early polling locations will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Thursday, Oct. 29.

More:Absentee ballots triple in Shelby Co. as deadline looms. Here's how to request, track yours

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Tuesday, Oct. 27. To request a mail-in ballot, a form available at the Secretary of State's site can be downloaded, filled out, signed and then sent to the Shelby County Election Commission via:

• Email at absenteevoting@shelbycountytn.gov
• Fax to  901-222-1217

To be counted, mail-in ballots must be returned to the Shelby Co. Election Commission's office by 7 p.m. on election day, Nov. 3. Absentee ballots cannot be hand-delivered. 

The Administrator of Elections in Shelby Co., Linda Phillips, suggests the use of an express mail service to ensure that your ballot arrives on time. 

It should be mailed to: Shelby County Election Commission, 980 Nixon Drive, Memphis, TN 38134. 

For voters who are able to make the choice between casting their ballot in person and mailing one in, in the final days of the election, Phillips advised voting in person to mitigate the risk that a ballot may not arrive in time.

Voting by mail:A step-by-step guide

Voting in person:Short lines at many early voting sites in Shelby County

The Commercial Appeal observed a difference of 354 votes in the total 10-day figures, from Oct. 14 to Oct. 24, reported by the Tennessee Secretary of State, which cited 251,666 Shelby Co. votes, and the Shelby Co. Election Commission, which reported 252,020.

A spokesperson for the Secretary of State's office referred the matter to the Shelby County Election Commission as the source of both figures. Suzanne Thompson, the commission's spokesperson, said the discrepancy reflects a clerical error that caused the county to over-report the number of votes by 100; address changes that the election commission is processing; a small set of protected voters whose information is not reported to the state; and the review of a few dozen votes that entail discrepancies which are under review.

Visualizations and analysis included herein rely on TN Secretary of State data except where zip code-level of Shelby Co. votes cast is provided via Shelby Co. Election Commission data.

Daniel Connolly contributed to this report.

Sarah Macaraeg is an award-winning journalist who writes investigations, features and the occasional news story for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at sarah.macaraeg@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2889 or on Twitter @seramak.