Bill could change election dates for Tennessee cities

JACKSON, Tenn. — A bill moving through the state legislature could change when Tennesseans vote for their local leaders.

House Bill 1497 would require cities to change the date of their elections.

“Currently there’s a bill moving through the legislature which would require municipalities and governments to align their elections with the presidential cycle,” said Jackson Mayor Scott Conger.

The bill’s sponsors say this would standardize election timetables in Tennessee, which would make the cycle consistent for all Tennesseans.

Partisan elections

The bill would also make elections partisan, a shift from the current law which requires city elections to be nonpartisan.

“We’ve been watching this bill closely throughout the session, and so looking forward to finalizing what the plan is and then after that we’ll have to bring up a proposal to the council to amend the charter and then send that to the legislature in the next session to bring it back for our ratification, to finalize when we’re going to have our voting dates in 2028,” Conger said.

If passed, cities whose election dates change could see current officials serve extra time in office to bridge the gap. However, the bill caps that extension at no more than two years beyond an official’s regular term.

Conger mentioned in a Facebook post that he’s had several people ask when he’s going to start campaigning for the next mayoral election, and wrote “Campaigning for the wrong election date doesn’t serve anyone. It’s important to understand the timeline before jumping into the noise. And it raises a bigger question about whether we’re paying attention to what’s actually happening at the state and local level.”

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