Are you an out of state student and want to register in Tennessee?
Fact: Students vote where they sleep
Fact: Students vote where they park their car at night
YOU may register to vote if:
you are a U.S. citizen;
you are 18 years of age, or will be, on/or before the next election;
you are a resident of Tennessee (because you now live in Tennessee to go to school);
you have not been convicted of a felony or, if convicted, had voting rights restored by a court order or pardon.
I am an OUT OF STATE student and want to register in Tennessee
If you moved to Murfreesboro from another state but now reside in Rutherford County, you may register and vote in Rutherford County for as long as you live in Rutherford County.
Paper Mail In Registration — Available here! — or available at the ADP office, HON 221.
All of the instructions for online are the same for the paper registration. The paper registration does not require a Tennessee ID for registration. However, you need a Tennessee ID or Federally issued ID to vote. Your best option is to bring your passport with you.
Follow one of these options for filling out the registration form:
Online Registration – You must have a Tennessee ID to register online.
Click on the “Online Registration” button below to begin. Follow the instructions on each page. The online registration will not let you advance to the next page without fully completing the previous!
ALWAYS check, and double check your application before you submit. The online version will let you review before submission.
IMPORTANT: If you are registering in Rutherford County and live in a dorm, your “Address Where You Live” will not be your dorm! It will be 1301 East Main Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37132. You will enter an “Address Where You Get Your Mail,” and it will be P.O. Box ___, Murfreesboro, TN 37132. If you live in the dorms, you have an MTSU postal box to receive your mail on campus, which becomes your mailing address. If you do not know your MTSU Box P.O. Box #, you can look it up through your pipeline account!
PipelineMT –> Personal Information –> MTSU Post Office Box and Combination.
Paper Registration — Available here! — or available at the ADV office, HON 221.
All of the instructions for online are the same for the paper registration. The paper registration does not require a Tennessee ID for registration. However, you will need either a Tennessee State or Federally issued ID (we recommend a passport) to vote!
You will address the Application for Voter Registration to the Rutherford County Election Commission, 1 Public Square South, Rutherford County Bldg. Rm. 103, Murfreesboro, TN 37130. Put a stamp on the envelope and mail it. Or, you can personally deliver the application to the election commission office on the south side of town square across from the courthouse. Or, bring it to the ADP office, HON 221, and we will submit it for you.
Online Registration – You must have a Tennessee ID to register online.
Click on the “Online Registration” button below to begin. Follow the instructions on each page. The online registration will not let you advance to the next page without fully completing the previous!
ALWAYS check, and double check your application before you submit. The online version will let you review before submission.
If you are registering in Rutherford County and live in an apartment, your “Address Where You Live” will be your apartment address. This is also the “Address Where You Get Your Mail.” Your return address on the mailer envelope will be the same as the address where you get your mail, your apartment address.
Paper Registration — Available here! — or available at the ADV office, HON 221.
All of the instructions for online are the same for the paper registration. The paper registration does not require a Tennessee ID for registration. However, you will need either a Tennessee State or Federally issued ID (we recommend a passport) to vote!
You will address the Application for Voter Registration to the Rutherford County Election Commission, 1 Public Square South, Rutherford County Bldg. Rm. 103, Murfreesboro, TN 37130. Put a stamp on the envelope and mail it. Or, you can personally deliver the application to the election commission office on the south side of town square across from the courthouse. Or, bring it to the ADP office, HON 221, and we will submit it for you.
Online Registration – You must have a Tennessee ID to register online.
Click on the “Online Registration” button below to begin. Follow the instructions on each page. The online registration will not let you advance to the next page without fully completing the previous!
ALWAYS check, and double check your application before you submit. The online version will let you review before submission.
If you are choosing to register in another Tennessee county, for example Wilson County, your “Address Where You Live” must be in Wilson County, your “Address Where You Get Your Mail” must be in Wilson County.
Paper Registration — Available here! — or available at the ADV office, HON 221.
All of the instructions for online are the same for the paper registration. The paper registration does not require a Tennessee ID for registration. However, you will need either a Tennessee State or Federally issued ID (we recommend a passport) to vote!
Your return address on the mailer envelope must be your county mailing address, and you will mail your application to your county’s election commission at the proper election commission address. Put a stamp on the envelope. (The list of all county election commission addresses can be found on the website of the Tennessee Department of State, Division of Elections.) Or, bring it to the ADP office, HON 221, and we will submit it for you.
You may register to vote in your hometown.
If you moved to Tennessee from out of state to go to school, you may want to vote absentee in your home state. If so, you will need to be directly in touch, right away, with your local county election commission of your home town to learn your state’s voting requirements. Ask about both registration and your state’s rules for absentee balloting.
If you are a student, you have a constitutional right to register and vote in the place you truly consider to be home — RockTheVote.org.
If you wish to maintain voting registry at home, remember that you must travel back to your home county to vote. Check your home county’s election commission website for hours and days when the polls are open.
But please consider, you also have a legal right to register and vote in the place you currently reside, where you go to school, now in Rutherford County, Tennessee — see paper registration in I Live Off Campus in Rutherford County above.
Frequently Asked Questions
You are not registered until you receive your actual voter registration card in the mail. When it arrives, safely hold onto it! It’s official paperwork, like your driver’s license and Social Security card.
Your voter card should arrive in the mail to you within about two weeks. You need to be looking for it and proactive about following up. If in two weeks you haven’t received it, call the election commission and make inquiries.
*The first time you vote MUST be in person!
You cannot vote without your official registration card and also without a state or federal photo identification card. Your MTSU University ID card will not provide the identification you need. You must have a driver’s license or other acceptable official photo ID (http://www.tn.gov/sos/election/photoID.htm).
If you do not have a Tennessee drivers licence, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security can provide a Tennessee ID for you. See the Tennessee League of Women Voters resources for more information about ID Law.
Your voter registration card will designate precisely your voting precinct. You may need to check with your election commission for the exact address of the polling location for your precinct. Select the button below for quick access to Rutherford County voting locations.
Your county election commission’s website will provide a sample ballot you may examine prior to going to the polls in the upcoming elections in which you will participate.
Spread the word. Help others register to vote. Study the candidates. Read newspapers. Compare media biases. Be informed. Be prepared. Be smart. Be a good citizen. Be an MTSU civically engaged Blue Raider!
I still have lots of questions! Who will help me?
We’ll answer all your questions and get you registered!
Email us at amerdem@mtsu.edu Call us at (615) 904-8241 Stop by and visit us at HONORS 221
Students with questions about any election process should call the Rutherford County Election Commission at 615-898-7743, or email inquiries to election@rutherfordcounty.org. The Election Commission office is located at 1 Public Square South, Room 103, Murfreesboro, TN 37130.