The reason for a canceled Lakeland Board of Commissioners meeting last week came into question over whether incumbent Wesley Wright was trying to avoid a controversial vote.

Both incumbent Portia Tate and Brad Ratliff are running for elected office for the first time. The school board race between Ratliff and Tate is the only contested race this election cycle.

Here are the basics of the absentee ballot process -- applying for a ballot and what to do when you get it. We also outline some important lessons about the process learned in the August elections.

Voters lined up before the doors opened Wednesday at 26 early-voting sites across Shelby County and kept coming through the morning. Early voting continues through Oct. 29. Election Day is Nov. 3.

Related Story: Ballot Basics: Voting Absentee and Lessons from August

The chairs of the two local parties say interest is high in the election and they anticipate a higher turnout than four years ago, starting with early voting.

Related Stories:

• Election Commission clears backlog of absentee ballot requests
• Ballot Basics: Early Voting Oct. 14-29
• Suburban down-ballot races are competitive

Six people are seeking the remaining two years of the late-Tom Allen’s term. The race on Nov. 3 will likely result in Collierville’s first runoff in 17 years.

Here is what you need to know about voting early in the presidential general election in Shelby County, from voting locations to how to know what races will be on your specific ballot.

The commission is now processing absentee applications as they come in. The deadline to request the mail-in ballots is Oct. 27.

Harold Booker and Thomas Swan are trying to bring their voices to the board and each hope to unseat incumbent Alderman John Worley, who has been in the position since 2012.

Gregory Frazier is challenging incumbent John Stamps for the Collierville Alderman Position 5 seat. 

Few House races statewide are expected to see turnover in the Nov. 3 election, but Shelby County has a handful of seats that could shift.

Alderwoman Paula Sedgwick is seeking a third consecutive term to Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Newcomer Kevin Quinn is running his first political campaign, trying to unseat Sedgwick. 

Four candidates are on the ballot for the Position 3 seat on Collierville Schools’ board as Chairman Mark Hansen decides to not seek reelection. 

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Marquita Bradshaw is calling for a debate with Republican Bill Hagerty after their only scheduled event was canceled, saying she wants to face off, while his campaign accuses her of pulling a “political stunt.”

Jon McCreery and Brandon Musso both say they want to unify what’s broken in the city of Germantown. The two are facing off for Position 5 in the November election.

Monday afternoon is the deadline to register to vote in the presidential general election if you aren’t already registered. Here is a look at the demographics of the Shelby County voter base.

Voter registration drives are busy on the last weekend before the registration deadline. But more than 80% of Shelby County’s voting age population is already registered. The tale of the 2020 presidential election in Shelby County will be told by the voters on the rolls who show up.

John Paul Miles, Rod Motley and Brian Ueleke are vying for Alderman Position 4. Forrest Owens currently holds the seat and has decided to not seek reelection.

Shelby County commissioners put off a vote Monday, Sept. 28, on $5.8 million to buy a new voting system, a move that election officials say could mean it will take days to count all the votes in the presidential general election.

Sherrie Hicks and Terri Johnson will face off for Position 3 in the Germantown’s municipal election. Hicks boasts 20 years of involvement in the city while Johnson, a flooded homeowner, has spent years at the state and local level.

A Davidson County chancellor ordered the state Friday to update absentee voting guidelines to make sure voters who live with COVID-vulnerable Tennesseans, as well as caretakers, are aware they can cast absentee ballots this fall.

Davidson County chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled Friday, Sept. 25, the Registry of Election Finance violated Tennessee’s Open Meetings Act with a secret email vote in early April approving a civil penalty settlement for state Rep. Joe Towns of Memphis.

The attorney for John Barzizza balks at bill sent to unsuccessful 2018 mayoral candidate over the challenge of the results

Gov. Bill Lee said Wednesday he believes the president and Senate have the responsibility to fill the vacancy left by the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just six weeks before the presidential election.

Jeremy Burnett and Michelle Childs, who were appointed last year to the Lakeland Board of Education, are running unopposed in November.