T.C.A. § 2-5-206 Forms of Ballots On Voting Machines

• Library: Tennessee Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through Acts 2023-2024, ch. 488, and 2023EX1, ch. 4
• Year: 2023
• Citation: T.C.A. § 2-5-206

(a) Voting machine ballot labels and names of candidates shall be printed in black ink with office titles printed in black or red ink on clear material of such size as will fit the ballot frame and in as plain, clear type as the space will reasonably permit.

(b) All voting machine ballots shall be arranged as follows:

(1) In primary elections, the title of the offices shall be placed vertically on the left or right side of the ballot, and there shall be a vertical column for each political party, and the names of the candidates shall be placed opposite the title of the office for which they are to be selected, in alphabetical order according to the initials of their surname, beginning with the first initial. Each column shall be designated by the name of the political party for that column;

(2) In general elections, the title of the offices shall be placed vertically on the left or the right side of the ballot, and there shall be a vertical column for each political party. Any candidate whose name is to be placed on the ballot by virtue of party nomination shall be listed in the political column of such candidate's party, opposite the title of the office the candidate seeks. One (1) vertical column for independent candidates shall be placed on the ballot and shall appear immediately after the political party columns. The independent candidates shall be listed in alphabetical order according to the initials of their surnames, beginning with the first initial. The independent candidate's name shall be listed opposite the title of the office the candidate seeks. This ballot format shall apply to all voting machine ballots, except in counties using Automatic Voting Machine, Inc. type machines, C.E.S., Votomatic or comparable punch card voting systems, or Shouptronic or other comparable direct recording electronic voting systems. Any county using Automatic Voting Machine, Inc. type machines shall arrange its machine ballots in the following manner, to wit: the title of offices shall be place...

(3) If the arrangement as set out in subdivisions (b)(1) and (2) will not fit on the voting machine ballot, the county election commission may arrange the ballot so that the voting machine will accommodate the entire ballot including, without limitation, the arrangement of material in vertical columns with the office appearing first and the candidates for such office listed vertically beneath the office, with political party nominees indicated by (D) or (R) and independent candidates by (I); and