Qualifications for Office

To have a candidate's name on a ballot, that candidate must meet the legal qualifications for the office he/she is seeking. To view the qualifications for federal, state, and county offices, click here. The qualifications for City Mayor, Alderman and Recorder are:

    - a qualified Town voter and a bona fide resident within the corporate limits of the
    town of Byrdstown;
    - a bona fide resident of Pickett County, Tennessee, for a period of at least one (1)
    year prior to election;
    - a further qualification for the office of Mayor shall be the holding of a high school
    diploma or equivalent (G.E.D.) and being twenty-one (21) years of age at the
    beginning of the term.

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Petitions

All nominating petitions are due at 12:00 NOON on the qualifying deadline date. The first day to pick up a nominating petition for the May 2026 County Primary is December 22, 2025. Each petition must have at least 25 verified signatures. Some important things to remember are:

1. Only registered voters who are eligible to vote for that candidate can be counted.
2. Signatures with a post office box number as an address cannot be counted.
3. Signatures that do not match the signature on our files cannot be counted (e.g., a person cannot sign their spouse's name).
4. The address must match the address we have on file (exception: the person has moved, but within the same precinct).

For these reasons it is recommended that a candidate get at least 40 signatures on their petition. Nominating petitions for the May County Primary must be turned in no later than 12:00 NOON on February 19, 2026.

The dates above also apply to Independent candidates seeking election to county offices.

If a political party nominates candidates by a method other than a primary, a petition is not required. However, that party must submit the names of its candidates by the same deadline above.

The first day to pick up petitions for Byrdstown offices is January 9, 2026. The deadline to turn in these petitions is 12:00 NOON on March 10, 2026. These races are nonpartisan.

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Statement of Disclosure of Interests

All candidates and elected officials are required to file a Statement of Disclosure of Interests with the Tennessee Ethics Commission. The deadlines to file are:

Byrdstown candidates:	April 9, 2026
Local elected officials:	January 31st of each year
All other local candidates:	March 23, 2026

This form may be completed online by clicking here, or you may print a form and mail it to the Tennessee Ethics Commission.

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Campaign Financial Disclosure Statements

Candidates are required to file these statements UNLESS:

1. the service for office is part-time
   AND
2. the compensation is less than $1,000 per month
   AND
3. the candidate does not plan on spending more than $1,000 on his/her campaign.

This statement is to be turned in or mailed to the election office. A list of the due dates for each statement will be included in the petition packet. NEW LAW: effective January 1, 2026, the office will not be allowed to accept campaign finance statements by fax.

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Candidates for Sheriff or Road Superintendent

Candidates for Sheriff are required to file their affidavit of qualification with the P.O.S.T. Commission. Candidates for Road Superintendent are required to file their affidavit of qualification with the Tennessee Highway Officials Certification Board. The last day to file these documents for either office is February 5, 2026.

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Certification of Elections

Certification of each election usually occurs on the third Monday of the month in which that election was held.

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Maps

Pickett County Voting Precincts(requires zooming in to see detail)
County Commission District 1
County Commission District 2
County Commission District 3
County Commission District 4

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Helpful Links

State of Tennessee Elections website
Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance
Laws regarding campaign advertising on utility poles, removal of campaign signs