NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee’s early voting period kicks off Wednesday, Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 3.

About 59 percent of voters cast early or absentee ballots in the last presidential election in 2012. That was down by 1 percentage point from the 2008 presidential election. Early and absentee ballots made up 38 percent of the vote in 2000 and 47 percent in 2004.

Tennessee has required voters to present government-issued IDs at polling places since 2012. The law was upheld following a legal challenge later that year.

In that case, the state Court of Appeals also found that an ID issued by public libraries was sufficient to vote. But state lawmakers returned the next year and banned library IDs from being accepted at polling places. Student IDs also don’t meet state standards.

Related posts:

States seek to reassure voters, tighten poll security Nearly 480K ballots cast through first 4 days early voting Nashville silently protests Trump Inauguration White Supremacist rally accelerates removal of Confederate statues in Tennessee AP: GOP Sen. Alexander of Tennessee not seeking 2020 re-election