White retains his seat with 55% of the vote, according to unofficial totals from the Shelby County Election Commission.

Republican Bill Hagerty handily defeated Democratic Memphis environmental activist Marquita Bradshaw Tuesday, Nov. 3, for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Lamar Alexander, bringing to an end the surprise run for the seat that Bradshaw began with a primary upset of Nashville attorney James Mackler.

Millions of voters put aside worries about the virus — and some long lines — to turn out in person, joining 102 million fellow Americans who voted days or weeks earlier, a record number that represented 73% of the total vote in the 2016 presidential election.

Germantown voters decided who would fill open alderman positions and a school board seat.

Related Story: Stamps wins reelection in Collierville; runoffs will decide two other alderman seats

Collierville voters cast ballots for three alderman positions and one contested school board seat.

Challenger Kevin Quinn defeated incumbent Bartlett alderwoman Paula Sedgwick by a mere 61 votes in the suburb’s only contested alderman race, according to unofficial totals from the Shelby County Election Commission. 

Overall, election officials were happy with the day’s process. “It was well-organized. We had a good plan and a lot of people,” Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips said.

Who will be your elected officials come next year? We know most of them. 

Republican Bill Hagerty was in Cordova Monday morning and Democrat Marquita Bradshaw ended her campaign Monday evening in Orange Mound. The two have waged very different campaigns for the seat Lamar Alexander leaves at the end of the year.

The lawsuit filed Sunday seeks an expedited court hearing and injunction so U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Marquita Bradshaw’s campaign can contact voters ahead of Election Day and urge them to submit their absentee ballots.

Germantown candidates like to brand themselves as independent thinkers. Recent endorsements and financial disclosures show ideological alignments exist in the non-partisan races.

A new voting app breaks down who the early voters were. The broader turnout numbers show more than half of the county’s registered voters have already cast their ballots.

Here’s a quick guide to the competitive races on the ballot and what is at stake in other races that aren’t as competitive.

The decision voters are weighing is whether they want a new voice on the Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen or to keep the current group in place for at least another two years.

Thursday is the last day of early voting in advance of the Nov. 3 election. The large turnout of early voters and those voting absentee so far leaves Election Day turnout as a bit of a surprise. And last-minute appeals to Republican and Democratic partisans is proving that political divisions over the past four years are likely to remain once the votes are counted.

The U.S. Postal Service box in Bartlett will accept mail-in absentee ballots on election day up to 3 p.m. with a guarantee they will be in election commission hands by the time the polls close at 7 p.m. — the deadline to vote absentee.

It’s the second consecutive election the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office has come up with federal funding to buy the updated scanners for Shelby County.

Applications can be made online and are due by the end of the business day at the election commission. Completed absentee ballots are due at the election commission by the time the Election Day polls close at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 and cannot be hand-delivered. 

Here are a few changes in how elections are conducted in Memphis, close elections and even a belated admission that a pivotal mayor’s race was rigged.

Related story: Presidential campaigns have distinctly Memphis flavor

Tennessee may not be a battleground state in the presidential general election, but the absence of the Trump or Biden national campaigns in Memphis leaves a race for president on uniquely local terms.

Related story: A local history of tumult and change at the polls

Absentee voting provides an extra layer of challenge for young voters just trying to be a part of the electoral process.

Traditional campaigns are no longer the norm in 2020 as each candidate tries to find creative ways to get their message out to voters.

Some Collierville residents continue to express frustration as the smell of the landfill often wafts toward their homes. Candidates for alderman weigh in on the matter.