Starting today, Tennesseans can request by-mail ballots for the November general election, the Associated Press reports. In June, a state court judge ordered that all eligible Tennessee voters have the option to vote by mail during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state has appealed the expansion, but the Tennessee Supreme Court allowed the order to go into effect while the challenge is pending. WJHL.com has the article. To request an absentee ballot, voters should submit a written request to their local county election commission office by mail, fax or email. The request should include specific information detailed on the Secretary of State’s website.

A former public defender and a small business owner are part of a new wave of candidates trying to unseat Congressman Jim Cooper, WPLN reports. Keeda Haynes, 42, became a public defender after spending almost four years in federal prison for drug-related charges she has consistently denied. She is making criminal justice reform a centerpiece of her platform and has been endorsed by some of the progressive groups that have pushed back on Cooper’s voting record. Joshua Rawlings, 27, is a small business owner who previously ran as a Republican. His priorities include enacting term limits, universal health care and getting “big money” out of politics.

With veteran state Rep. John DeBerry removed from the Democratic ballot, three candidates are trying to distinguish themselves from each other for the District 90 House seat, the Daily Memphian reports. Hair salon owner Anya Parker, Southwest Community College instructor Catrina Smith and human resources director Torrey Harris are all looking for an edge in the race. The winner of the primary will face DeBerry, now an independent candidate, in the November general election. No Republican candidate qualified for the district race.

Tennessee Elections Coordinator Mark Goins confirmed yesterday that all 95 counties in the state have updated their websites or written materials to reflect a judge’s order to expand absentee voting, the Associated Press reports. Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle last month ordered Goins to tell counties to update their information after plaintiffs attorneys named 20 counties with absentee request forms or other website mentions that didn’t correctly reference COVID-19 as a reason to vote absentee.  Earlier this week, Lyle said it was “still unknown” whether counties were complying and ordered an update from Goins, which he provided in a court filing on Wednesday.

Despite a Nashville judge’s order last month to expand absentee voting for all eligible voters, state officials say they plan to enforce a requirement that first-time voters who register by mail cast their ballots in-person, the Associated Press reports. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sought to block the in-person requirement in a court filing last month, saying it’s unclear if the judge’s order allows that group to vote by mail. The state responded last week, saying that it and county officials have moved forward under the expectation that the first-time voting requirement “would apply as usual in the upcoming elections.” If that requirement were blocked, the state says election officials would have to canvass all absentee ballot applications, identify those who were rejected because they were first-time voters who registered by mail and then contact those voters to re-submit an absentee ballot application—all before the July 30 deadline. It is unclear how many voters that would rule out for absentee voting before the Aug. 6 primary.  

Rep. John DeBerry announced yesterday that after 26 years of serving as a Democrat, he will file to run as an independent in the next election, the Commercial Appeal reports. Earlier this year, the state’s Democratic Party Executive Committee voted to remove DeBerry from its ballot for the Aug. 6 primary after taking issue with his voting record and his history of accepting donations from GOP-aligned political action committees. The party removed him from the ballot after the filing deadline had passed, preventing DeBerry from filing again under another party. DeBerry’s announcement comes after legislation (HB1278/SB1009) passed through the General Assembly amending state election law to allow an incumbent to file on the opposing party’s ballot at least 90 days before the primary election or 90 days before the general election if running as an independent.

Longtime prosecutor Teresa Murray Smith has announced that she is running for Elizabethton municipal judge. Smith was in private practice but is best known for her time as an assistant district attorney general in the First and Second Judicial Districts, the Johnson City Press reports. Smith is the only person on the ballot for the Aug. 6 Republican primary. Jason Holly was appointed as the city judge by the Elizabethton City Council in February, following the death of Judge T.J. Little, but he is not on the primary ballot. He is mounting a write-in campaign for the nomination to run in the November election.

After serving 26 years as a Memphis Democrat in the General Assembly, Rep. John DeBerry has been removed from the party’s Aug. 6 primary ballot, the Daily Memphian reports. The state Democratic Party Executive Committee voted 41-18 today to uphold a challenge to DeBerry’s status as a Democratic candidate. The move focused on DeBerry’s vote for Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account program and bills restricting abortion, and accepting campaign contributions from Republican supporters. Torrey Harris, who ran against DeBerry in 2018, and hair salon owner Anya Parker are running as Democrats.

Months after confirming to fellow GOP lawmakers that he would not seek re-election, Rep. David Byrd, R-Waynesboro, has reversed course. The Nashville Post reports Byrd announced his bid for reelection on Tuesday, citing the need for an experienced representative during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, Byrd was accused of sexually assaulting three underage women in the 1980s, prompting calls for his resignation and pleas that he not seek reelection. “For District 71 to have a freshman representative during his crucial time could definitely result in our rural counties being overlooked in future key legislation that could help our constituents rebound from this devastating pandemic,” Byrd said in a statement. He has never publicly denied the allegations against him.

State Rep. Timothy Hill, R-Blountville, has announced he is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in East Tennessee’s First Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Phil Roe’s retirement has left the only open seat in the state’s delegation. Hill, who was first elected to the General Assembly in 2012, served as majority whip and chairs the House Commerce Committee. Other candidates for the seat include state Sen. Rusty Crowe, R-Johnson City, former Kingsport Mayor John Clark and former Johnson City Mayor Steve Darden. Read more from the Bristol Herald Courier.