A year out of the City Council, Joe Brown returns to elected office as General Sessions Court Clerk over Paul Boyd, who left the Probate Court Clerk's office two years ago.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen cruised to a win Thursday, Aug. 6, in the Democratic primary for Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, beating out two challengers entering the November election against two independents and Republican Charlotte Bergmann.

A quick look at all local races impacting Shelby County. See the winners from the Aug. 6 primaries.

Shelby County School Board gains one new member, with five board races on the ballot.

It's Hagerty versus Bradshaw in the November general election Senate race on the statewide ballot. And the winners of Thursday's Republican and Democratic primaries came with some surprises for pollsters on the Republican side and for Democrats looking at the primaries campaign bank accounts.

While the polls are open, this is the place to come throughout the day for updates on how election day is going. 

Here’s what to expect if you are voting today, from pandemic preparations to what to do if your absentee ballot didn't arrive. And what to expect on your ballot.

On the eve of election day, the state's highest court rules the expanded access to absentee ballots for the August elections means all of those votes will be counted. But for November, absentee ballots will not be open to all who have general concerns for their health if they vote in person instead of by mail. There was a dissenting opinion on the court.

An attorney for Memphis plaintiffs challenging the state’s absentee voting law says Tennessee’s elections coordinator is the source of information showing plaintiffs voted in person despite their claims that going to the polls could put them and others at risk for catching COVID-19.

Republican Senate contender Dr. Manny Sethi and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas portrayed rival candidate Bill Hagerty as a political insider despite having President Donald Trump’s endorsement. 

The early voting period ended Saturday afternoon and includes a larger than usual absentee ballot count. Election day is Thursday with polling places open until 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, the hard-fought statewide Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate is being seen by partisans on both sides of the close race as about the conservative movement in the state.

On "Behind The Headlines," Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips says some upgraded digital scanners that are part of the new system will be used in the August vote count and again in November. She expects the November presidential general election Shelby County to be a record-setter in terms of turnout.

The state's highest court heard the state's appeal of the recent expansion of mail-in absentee voting ordered last month by a Nashville Chancery Court. The state says absentee ballots are a privilege and not a right. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit argue that in the current pandemic, in-person voting is a choice for voters between their health and their right to vote.

The first challengers have emerged for alderman and Board of Education seats in Bartlett’s fall elections, as Kevin Quinn and Bradford Ratliff filed petitions with the Shelby County Election Commission.

By the 4:30 p.m. Thursday deadline to apply, the Shelby County Election Commission could process 20,000 requests for mail-in ballots that could be a major factor in the August elections.

Through seven Congressional campaigns, incumbent 9th District Democrat Steve Cohen has posted some impressive percentages in the primary that counts in the majority Democratic district within Shelby County.

The Congressman faces former Shelby County Democratic Party chairman Corey Strong in the Aug. 6 primary. Strong is critical of Cohen’s style; Cohen says Strong and past challengers don’t understand the job.

Statewide races in Tennessee are daunting tasks requiring millions of dollars to credibly campaign in a state with 95 counties and two time zones. Here are the major contenders by those fundraising standards and the other contenders in each primary.

The Nashville attorney is back two years after bowing out of another Senate bid. This time, James Mackler says his campaign will be “laser focused.”

The three-way race is a skirmish between two to show who is closer to President Donald Trump and a different strategy by a third candidate, seen before in the 2018 GOP primary for Tennessee governor.

Collierville's Board of Mayor and Aldermen declared an aldermanic vacancy Monday. The action was taken following the death of Tom Allen, who died last week.

Officials hope to process absentee voting applications the same day they arrive up to Thursday's deadline to apply. Meanwhile, in-person early voting continues through Saturday, Aug. 1, at 26 locations. Election day is Aug. 6.

Shelby County posted the second highest county total for the state through the first six days of early voting. Davidson County, including Nashville, has the highest turnout and, at least for now, is the bluest county in terms of early voters' choices of primaries. Of the state's 95 counties, 92 show Republican majorities in their turnout.

The turnout totals from the Shelby County Election Commission also show the first indications of a massive absentee voter turnout as election officials expect to catch up to a backlog of absentee applications by Friday.