(a) Notwithstanding § 2-3-302(f), any county which conducted a pilot project under § 2-3-301 establishing convenient voting centers in the county and for which the coordinator of elections filed a favorable report under § 2-3-307 may create a program that establishes convenient voting centers in the county for federal, state, and local elections under the following conditions:
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 2-3-308
emergency: means an occurrence, or threat thereof, whether natural, technological, or manmade, in war or in peace, that results in a polling place being unavailable or unsuitable for voting. See Tennessee Code 2-3-110
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) For every ten thousand (10,000) registered voters, the county election commission shall locate at least one (1) convenient voting center; provided, that each county election commission shall locate at least two (2) convenient voting centers within a county. In determining the locations of the convenient voting centers, the county election commission shall consider the density of the county population, the geographic dividers, and all other facts and circumstances that exist within the county;(2) Convenient voting centers shall be open for voting for a minimum of ten (10) continuous hours but no more than thirteen (13) hours. All convenient voting centers in the eastern time zone shall close at eight o’clock p.m. (8:00 p.m.), prevailing time, and convenient voting centers in the central time zone shall close at seven o’clock p.m. (7:00 p.m.) prevailing time;(3) At least fifteen (15) days before the date of each election, the county election commission shall determine a uniform time for the opening of all convenient voting centers;(4) Each convenient voting center used in the program shall have a secure electronic connection, certified by the coordinator of elections, to the computerized voter registration system maintained by the county election commission permitting all voting information processed by any computer at a convenient voting center to be immediately accessible to all other computers at all convenient voting centers in the county. The secure electronic connection must be sufficient to prevent any voter from voting more than once and to prevent unauthorized access to the computerized voter registration system;(5) Each convenient voting center shall meet applicable federal and state laws, including the accessibility requirements of the Help America Vote Act (42 U.S.C. § 15301);(6) Section 2-3-107 and chapter 7 of this title apply to all convenient voting centers;(7) If convenient voting centers are used in the election, the county election commission is not limited by § 2-3-101(a); provided, that no polling location may be changed within ten (10) days of an election, except in an emergency.(b) Any county meeting the requirements of subsection (a) must mail notices to active registered voters only if the election commission designates convenient voting centers that differ from those used in the previous election cycle.
