Hundreds of absentee ballots lack some judicial races and charter question
About 700 voters received absentee ballots that are missing some races, according to the Shelby County Election Commission. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP file)
Absentee voters who believe they may be affected can call the election commission at 901-222-1200 to verify their status.
Most of the special election races on the Aug. 6 ballot for judicial positions as well as a county charter referendum question were left off several hundred absentee ballots the Shelby County Election Commission has already sent to voters.
The absentee ballots began arriving early this month to those Shelby County voters who requested them.
The Election Commission posted a notice Saturday, July 11, saying supplemental ballots with the omitted races are being mailed to the affected absentee voters and should arrive by a FedEx tracked mailing by Wednesday, July 15.
Voters should fill out the ballot without the races along with the supplemental ballot which includes only those races not on the first ballot mailed.
The notice blames a “processing omission” for the mistake. In addition to sending the supplemental ballot to affected voters, the Election Commission plans to call all for whom a phone number is available. Absentee voters who believe they may be affected can call the election commission at 901-222-1200 to verify their status.
The notice puts the number of absentee ballots affected by the error at approximately 700.
Most of those do not have special election countywide races for Circuit Court, Chancery Court and Criminal Court judges for vacancies on those courts that have been filled by appointment until the results of the special election races are certified after the Aug. 6 election day.
There are six special judicial races on the ballot. Four are missing from the 700 ballots. The two that made the absentee ballot are the special elections for General Sessions Civil and Criminal Judges.
A smaller number of the affected ballots are also missing a county charter referendum that if approved by voters would allow the Shelby County Commission to hire its own attorney separate from the county attorney’s office.
“We understand, especially in this political climate, that there’s heightened interest in the election process,” said Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips in the notice. “Transparently acknowledging and quickly correcting the omission is vital for maintaining election integrity and voter trust.”
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Shelby County Election Commission 2026 elections 2026 special judicial elections Linda Phillips Absentee ballotsBill Dries on demand
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
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