To help readers make an informed decision, this guide provides an introduction to the more than 150 candidates on the various ballots.

Here’s a rundown to help you with the what, when and where of voting in the 2026 August elections. 

The most complex ballot of the three 2026 Shelby County elections begins early voting Friday. President Donald Trump and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have both endorsed candidates in the 9th Congressional District race.

A suit is filed in an Ole Miss football player’s death, the suburbs get electrification with representation and we meet the Dems running in District 8.

Early voting starts Friday, July 17, for the Aug. 6 Shelby County general election. But the ballot also includes the state and federal primaries for the Nov. 3 election. 

Memphis City Council member JB Smiley Jr. is named in a May letter as urging the city administration to hire Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington’s niece in the city’s IT division.

To celebrate World Snake Day, Chris Baker, associate curator of reptiles at the Memphis Zoo, discusses how he and his team safely care for venomous snakes and why he thinks they’re such remarkable animals.

The father of Corey Adams, a freshman Ole Miss football player shot and killed at a Cordova party in 2025, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit seeking at least $1 million plus punitive damages in his son’s murder.

Local Democrats closed out their candidate forums for the city’s three newly drawn congressional districts in, while a Millington event drew a Republican nominee for county mayor and videos from two contenders for governor.

In federal court documents, the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General filed motions to dismiss the school district’s lawsuit and dissolve an earlier court order pausing the takeover. 

After an abruptly called special session Tuesday, July 14, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves gave more details about what changes lawmakers would make to the state youth court system.

The Memphis Fire Department has a new way to handle emergency medical services — on a bike. 

A long-vacant East Memphis restaurant is finally open, and a long-vacant Downtown hotel may soon be, too. 

The Tennessee State Board of Education is considering a policy to create alternate pathways to pass specialty area content assessments.

The General Sessions Criminal Court divisions will continue to function at just the most basic levels Wednesday, July 15, the third day of limited court operations there and a shutdown of Memphis Municipal or City courts.

Gov. Reeves has called Mississippi state legislators into a special session to discuss reforms to the state’s youth court system.

In May, the City Council’s chief administrator raised various concerns about Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington. Among them, that the councilperson was using city resources for her and her husband’s church.

Two Memphis City Council members are under investigation, and the Memphis Fire Department’s first responders get a fresh set of wheels — two wheels, that is. 

Last month, the Memphis City Council approved $5 million towards emergency repairs for AutoZone Park. But the park still needs about $35 million in deferred maintenance on top of that. 

Two Collierville residents are seeking the Republican nomination for an open position on the suburb’s school board as incumbent Wanda Chism declines to run for reelection. 

The Memphis Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services Battalion will use the new red bikes, outfitted with equipment needed in a medical emergency, in crowded places that are tougher for traditional vehicles to access.

Several divisions of General Sessions Criminal Court and all divisions of City Court will be closed a second day Tuesday as work continues on damage from a June water leak. Meanwhile, air conditioning problems in the Shelby County Jail have improved.

A new Tennessee law allows Memphis Light, Gas and Water to have two voting representatives from Memphis’ largest suburbs, one from Collierville and another from Bartlett.

It is not clear what the city’s independent counsel is investigating, but a person familiar with the matter said it could be for potential violations of state, local and federal laws.

The clash came at a weekend candidates’ forum hosted by MICAH. Also the impact of Congressional primaries on voter turnout and Blackburn fallout and calculations.