First Presidential Mail-In Ballots Sent To Shelby County Voters Wednesday

Paper ballots for the 2020 Presidential Election were sent out to registered voters in Shelby County opting to vote by mail on Wednesday.

A total of 175,000 paper ballots arrived at the O.C. Pleasant Jr. Election Operations Center in Shelby County on Monday, the Election Commission confirmed to FOX13.

The Shelby County Election Commission has reportedly received nearly 20,000 requests for absentee, or mail-in, ballots as of Wednesday morning, FOX13 reports. The country reported a total of 8,000 requests for absentee ballots during the 2016 election.

A release sent to FOX13 by the Election Commission stated ballots will not be mailed in the order received. Large batches of ballots will instead be pulled from the inventory by precinct, FOX13 reports.

Voters who have already request a mail-in ballot are prohibited to vote on a machine at a polling location to vote in person. New identification requirements have also been implemented for first-time Tennessee voters opting to vote by mail.

Voters who registered by mail and are voting absentee for the first time will need to provide a copy of their identification alongside their ballot when mailing in their vote.

First-time voters will have several options to provide identification including a state or federal photo ID, a current utility bill, a bank statement, a government check or a paycheck that includes their name and address, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State's website via FOX13.

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