By Katie Northcott, News Director
Due to the Tennessee General Assembly decision on May 7 to adopt a revised congressional map, a special qualifying period opened for candidates seeking election to the U.S. House of Representatives. The special qualifying period will close at noon on Friday, May 15.
The Coffee County Election Commission has posted a notice of the redistricting and special qualifying period on its website. In response to a request for comment on the redistricting, Coffee County Election Administrator Andy Farrar made the following statement:
“The new Congressional redistricting map did not change for Coffee County; we are still in Congressional District 4. Therefore, it did not affect our office and there will be no changes for any Coffee County voters. The State Legislature has reopened the qualifying period for 1 week for candidates wishing to pick up petitions for the US House of Representatives. The deadline is Friday, May 15, 2026 at 12:00 NOON. The withdrawal deadline is set for the same day and time so the candidate list will be final next Friday, allowing us to start finalizing the ballot for August.”
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett released the following statement regarding the upcoming candidate deadline:
“The Tennessee General Assembly, on May 7, 2026, adopted revised congressional district boundaries and established a special qualifying period for candidates seeking election to the United States House of Representatives. Additional candidates may qualify for the 2026 primary or general election during the special qualifying period, which runs through noon on Friday, May 15, 2026.
“Candidate nominating petitions may be obtained from the State Division of Elections or from local county election commission offices. The State Division of Elections is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Local office hours are available through the county election commission lookup here: https://sos.tn.gov/elections/services/find-my-county-election-commission.
“New candidates must collect a minimum of 25 signatures from registered voters residing in a county that is part of the congressional district for which the candidate is seeking office.
“All filings must be received by noon on Friday, May 15, 2026.
“Maps of the revised congressional districts are available online at: https://sos.tn.gov/announcements/2026-congressional-redistricting.
“The original nominating petition must be filed with the State Division of Elections, located at:
312 Rosa L. Parks Ave., 7th Floor
William R. Snodgrass Tower
Nashville, TN 37243
“Candidates who previously qualified for the 2026 congressional election may continue to seek office in a newly drawn district if it retains the same district number. Candidates who wish to change districts or withdraw from the race may do so by filing a notarized written statement with the State Division of Elections, attention Coordinator of Elections.
“The General Assembly appropriated funding to notify any voter whose polling location changed because of the revised congressional districts. This notice will be sent to any voter whose polling location changed as a result of the redistricting. Most voters will not see a change in polling locations. Voters are encouraged to review any mailed notices and verify their voter registration information before Election Day.”
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