More than 1.28 million Tennesseans voted early in the 2026 midterm election, about 45 percent more than in 2022. The total still fell roughly 98,000 ballots short of the early-voting turnout recorded in 2018, according to a Tennessee Lookout report based on Secretary of State data.
Every county except Johnson County recorded more early votes than it did four years ago. Against 2018, the picture was mixed. Shelby County, the state's largest early-voting county, counted 183,896 early voters, about 2.5 percent behind 2018 but more than 52 percent above 2022. Williamson County logged 73,450, about 1.4 percent behind 2018.
A map redrawn in May
Early turnout in West and Middle Tennessee is drawing extra attention because the legislature redrew the state's congressional districts in May in a way the Lookout says gives Republican candidates better odds. The 9th Congressional District, which historically covered most of Memphis, now stretches from the Memphis airport along the state's southern border and up into part of Williamson County. The race pits Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson against Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor.
The Lookout reports that counties in the new 9th District were a mixed bag compared with 2018. Fayette County beat its 2018 early total by 0.45 percent with 9,593 voters, and Maury County topped it by 1.2 percent with 19,870. Rutherford County was 2.5 percent ahead with 67,625. Several rural counties in the district, including Hardeman, McNairy, Hardin, Wayne, Lawrence, Giles, Lincoln and Marshall, fell behind.
The new 5th District
The redrawn 5th District takes in parts of Shelby, Tipton, Montgomery, Maury and Williamson counties along with rural counties in Northwest and Middle Tennessee. Montgomery County's 32,636 early voters were 4.8 percent above 2018, but the district's rural counties trailed 2018 by anywhere from 2 to 23.5 percent.
Early ballots are not counted until Election Day, so the totals show who showed up, not who is winning. Polls in Tennessee are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central time on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Sources: Tennessee Lookout, Tennessee Secretary of State data as cited by Tennessee Lookout