As Memphis voters put to rest another season of campaigns for a place at City Hall, there are several last-minute dramas unfolding in a city where election night is the same night as Memphis Madness.

All the basic information you need for the simple act of voting in Thursday's Memphis elections, as well as a bit about what to expect if you are new to this or you haven't done it in awhile.

The Memphis elections Thursday decide some issues and create new issues as well as questions. Join our coverage early on election day as the polls open and stay with us until the last vote in the last precinct is counted.

The data released Sunday also shows three early voters separated the city's top two early voting sites — one that drew a predominantly African American turnout, the other that drew a predominantly white turnout.

You've seen the stories about early voter turnout in advance of the Oct. 3 Memphis election day. Here is what we know about the demographics of the more than 360,000 Memphis voters on the rolls of the Shelby County Election Commission.

Early voting turnout through Saturday was still lower than it was during 2015 early voting. But for a second consecutive day, Saturday's turnout was greater than the same day four years ago. By age, voters older than 65 are outperforming their percentage of the city's voting base. Council districts 5 and 6 had the highest turnout percentage thus far.

The numbers for early voting in the Oct. 3 Memphis elections show Friday's total was the first this year that exceeded the same day four years ago.

The chief deputy of the City Court Clerk’s office, who is running for the clerk’s position on the Oct. 3 Memphis ballot, doesn’t think the job should be an elected position.

The second Saturday of early voting in the Memphis elections came with indications the pace is picking up. The early voting period runs through Sept. 28. Oct. 3 is election day in Memphis.

The city campaign season this week saw a milestone in the move away from large public housing developments, an endorsement ballot topped by a questionable political figure and discussion about new appointments at City Hall beyond the Oct. 3 election results.

The wife of former vice president and current Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden attended a fundraiser in Germantown Thursday. She urged Democratic supporters to not believe that the nation is divided permanently along partisan lines. The state's presidential primaries are March 3.

After three days of intensifying controversy, mayoral contender and Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer said Tuesday she remains a candidate for mayor and is working to rebuild trust with LGBTQ allies no matter what happens in the election.

The Democratic presidential contender will hold a town hall meeting at East High School Sunday evening. The Tennessee presidential primary is in March.

Mayoral contender Tami Sawyer says her priority is healing the pain caused by old tweets. On Monday, two LGBTQ organizations issued statements that focused on a 2014 tweet by Sawyer about outing a gay teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School.

The Tennessee Equality Project and director of OUTMemphis each issued statements on a 2014 tweet by Memphis mayoral contender and Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer about outing a gay teacher.

Hundreds of people and more than 30 city candidates on the Oct. 3 ballot attended a Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope meeting Sunday at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church Westwood. 

The latest resurrected tweets, including one about outing a gay faculty member while in college, have become a major issue in Sawyer's campaign. Sawyer says there may be more. Meanwhile, the first day early-voting turnout from Friday was still tentative into Saturday afternoon, but it appeared to be several hundred lower than the opening day turnout in 2015. 

The Memphis City Council candidate who put together a “Pledge for Progress” platform statement that she and four other council contenders signed off on says it was an answer to “divisive” times politically in Memphis and across the country.

Here are the basics you need to know for the early voting period that opens Friday and continues through Sept. 28 - and a few informal tips on what to expect at the 18 voting sites.

Memphis voters begin deciding the winner and losers of the 2019 city elections Friday as early voting opens in advance of the Oct. 3 election day.

The two-week voting period in advance of the Oct. 3 Memphis election day opens Sept. 13 at 18 sites across the city. At stake are 18 races for city offices featuring 78 candidates and one ballot question.

A federal judge Thursday blocked the state’s new voter registration law, a reaction to a large number of applications filed in Shelby County in 2018. 

More than 800 attorneys participated in the ranking of candidates as best qualified for the judicial races. In the race for city court clerk, the largest response to the field of nine contenders was "no opinion."

The plaintiffs in a federal court case over voting machines are calling for election officials to conduct forensic audits of the touch-screen voting machines used in Shelby County.

With challengers for every incumbent seeking re-election, Tuesday's council session was short and punchy. Meanwhile, the Central Library remains ground zero for multiple candidate forums – one Tuesday evening for seven of the 11 candidates for mayor on the Oct. 3 ballot.