2025 8 11 Work Session Packet website

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From: Rogers, Honna <honna.rogers@tennessee.edu>  
Sent: Thursday, August 7, 2025 8:17 AM 
To: Bridget Roberts <admin@athenstn.gov> 
 
Good morning, 
 
Please see below from our legal consultant, Melissa Ashburn: 
 
Nonresident voting rights in Tennessee are tied to ownership of real property only and cannot extend to business 
ownership. City authority to permit such voting cannot be gained by private act charter amendment. Tennessee 
laws recognize municipal charter authority to grant nonresident property owners the right to vote in city elections, 
but no other nonresidents are permitted voting rights in our state. 
 
Athen’s Charter has this language: 
 
Section 3. Be it further enacted, That all city elections, including all elections respecting bond issues, shall 
be held under the supervision of the County Board of Election Commissioners, and in accordance with the 
law governing all State and County elections, as hereinbefore set out. This section may be enforced by 
appropriate ordinance. All persons living within the limits of such corporation who shall be qualified to vote 
for members of the Legislature of this state, and who shall have been a resident of the city for thirty (30) 
days preceding such elections, or any qualified voter living in McMinn County who owns fifty percent (50%) 
interest in developable land in the city shall be entitled to vote in the precinct where such person resides or 
owns land and to have their vote counted in such election. The Council may authorize the ballots for these 
non-resident property owners to be cast by mail only, pursuant to procedures approved by the State 
Coordinator of Elections.  
[As amended by Priv. Acts 1992, ch. 215, § 1; Priv.
 Acts 2000, ch. 83, § 1; and Priv. Acts 2002, ch. 114, § 1] 
 
Pursuant to this language, a resident of McMinn County who owns 50% interest in real property in Athen’s city 
limits may vote in city elections. Authority is limited to those McMinn County residents. A charter amendment 
would be required to extend these rights to nonresident property owners living elsewhere. 
 
[For those cities without charter authority to permit nonresident property owners to vote in municipal elections, 
there is a state law authorizing several based on population brackets found at Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-53-102.] 
 
This is our state law governing registration of a nonresident voting in municipal elections, where authorized by 
charter, and limiting the number of persons who may vote per parcel: 
 
(a)(1) A person shall be registered as a voter of the precinct in which the person is a resident, and, if 
provided for by municipal charter or general law, may also be registered in a municipality in which the 
person owns real property in order to participate in that municipality's elections. 
(2) Notwithstanding any provision of this title to the contrary, if a person's residence is located on real 
property which is located in both a municipality and in an unincorporated area in the county in which the 
municipality is located, then such person shall be eligible to vote in municipal elections if municipal taxes 
are assessed on the portion of real property located within the municipality. In a county having a 
metropolitan form of government, “unincorporated area,” as used in this subdivision (a)(2), includes an 
area outside the boundaries of any of the smaller cities within the metropolitan government. 
(3) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, if a municipal charter provides for property rights voting, no 
more than two (2) persons shall be entitled to vote based upon the ownership of an individual tract of 
property regardless of the number of property owners. 
 
Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-2-107  
 
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