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.

So far, the return by voters of the unusually high number of the mail-in ballots hasn't shown up in the early voting turnout figures. Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips told county commissioners Wednesday, July 22, that some absentee voters may not complete their ballots because they are expecting to see the presidential general election that is on the November ballot.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is July 30, so more ballot requests are on the way. Meanwhile, a total of 12,314 Shelby County voters have cast their ballots -- absentee and through in-person early voting -- in the first three days of the period that runs through Aug. 1. Election day is Aug. 6. 

Early voting across Shelby County in advance of the Aug. 6 election date resumes Monday, July 20, after the first two days drew nearly 8,000 voters.

The Democratic primary is wide open for the state House District 90 race with veteran state Rep. John DeBerry removed from the Democratic ballot.

The race pits state Rep. Tom Leatherwood, who his says his experience is needed to help steer Tennessee, against challenger Lee Mills, a former Republican Party chairman who calls his opponent a “career politician.”

During the half-hour online event Friday evening, Trump called Tennessee's Republican Senate primary "a real primary" -- an apparent reference to the tightening race between the former U.S. ambassador to Japan and Dr. Manny Sethi of Nashville.

Mauricio Calvo’s withdrawal accented the opening day of early voting in Memphis. Preliminary numbers show more than 5,000 people voted early Friday. In getting out of the District 5 school board race, Calvo cited his duties as executive director of Latino Memphis and the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on Latino Memphians. 

Here are the basics you need to know in order to vote early and make sure your ballot has all of the races it is supposed to have, including district races.

More than 13,000 Shelby Countians had requested absentee ballots through Wednesday.

Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips reminded voters that Friday is the first day of early voting and that safety measures will be in place.

The only countywide general election race on the Aug. 6 ballot pits a former City Council member against a former Probate Court clerk for a complex but often forgotten office. Early voting starts Friday, July 17.

The ACLU is asking a Davidson County chancellor to hold the state of Tennessee in contempt of court for violating an absentee ballot order by forcing first-time voters to cast ballots in person.

A majority of the seats on the nine-member Shelby County Schools board are on the August election ballot. As voters make those choices, starting with early voting later this week, parents are making other choices around the new school year.

Early voting in advance of the Aug. 6 election day begins Friday in Shelby County. 

The deadline is the end of the business day Tuesday for those not already registered. But 83% of the county's voting age population is already on the voting rolls. Meanwhile, about 7,500 Shelby Countians already registered to vote have requested absentee ballots — far above the usual number of requests for the mail-in ballots.

The Cordova headquarters opening spotlighted the only countywide race on the August ballot – the race for General Sessions Court Clerk between Democrat Joe Brown and Republican Paul Boyd.

A Shelby County group seeking election security reforms is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its case to prohibit the use of certain election machines and provide for a paper trail of election ballots.

Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova is replaced by Briarwood Church among the 26 locations that open for July 17 for the early voting period in advance of the Aug. 6 election day. State and federal primaries as well as county general elections are on the ballot. And more than 5,000 citizens have applied so far to vote by absentee ballots in the election.

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that it will not block a judge’s order offering a by-mail voting option to all eligible voters while the state continues to appeal.

Monday was the first day to pull petitions for Nov. 3 elections. In Germantown four people said they plan to run for alderman or the board of education. In Collierville, the mayor and two aldermen are seeking re-election.

Exploring the possibility of voting absentee for the first time? Here's a guide to what to expect and the new qualification added to the application by court order.

Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen says "defunding" police isn't what Democrats want and, in endorsing Tennessee Republican Senate contender Bill Hagerty, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton says protesters were exercising Constitutional rights

Supply chain problems are affecting the move to get Shelby County funding approved for a specific vendor. 

State Rep. John DeBerry will run as an independent in the November election after the General Assembly passed legislation sidestepping a decision by the Tennessee Democratic Executive Committee to remove him from the ballot.