Elections
The following is a listing of acts for Sevier County which affected the elective process, but which have been superseded or repealed. They are listed here for historical and reference purposes. Also referenced below are acts which repeal prior law without providing new substantive provisions.
1. Acts of 1796 (2nd Ex. Sess.), Chapter 4, Page 10, appointed electors for the President and Vice-President of the United States in every County of the State. Samuel McGahey, Joshua Gist, and Alexander Montgomery were chosen to represent Sevier County.
2. Acts of 1798, Chapter 15, Page 40, apportioned four Senators and eight Representatives to the Hamilton District of Tennessee. Sevier would have one Representative alone and share a State Senator with Blount County. The Sheriffs of Blount and Sevier Counties would meet at the home of Joseph Vance in Sevier County to compare the votes.
3. Acts of 1812 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 27, Page 23, divided Tennessee into six U. S. Congressional Districts. The Second District numbered Jefferson, Grainger, Claiborne, Knox, Sevier, Blount, and Cocke among its counties.
4. Acts of 1812 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 57, Page 56, apportioned the State into 20 Senatorial Districts and 40 Representative Districts. Sevier County would elect one Representative alone and share a State Senator with Blount County.
5. Acts of 1819, Chapter 69, Page 135, also allotted 20 Senators and 40 Representatives to counties. Sevier County still had one Representative for itself but shared a Senator with Cocke, Blount, and Monroe Counties. The place for counting the votes for each district was also named in this act.
6. Acts of 1822 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 1, Page 1, reorganized the State into eight U. S. Congressional Districts. Grainger, Claiborne, Cocke, Jefferson, Knox, Blount and Sevier Counties were all in the Second District.
7. Acts of 1826 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 3, Page 4, reapportioned the State but did not change the number of Senators and Representatives. Washington, Greene, Cocke, and Sevier Counties made up one State Senatorial District whose votes would be counted at Greenville. Cocke and Sevier County would share a Representative, the vote being compared at the house of Jacob Bird.
8. Acts of 1832 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 4, Page 14, divided Tennessee into 13 U. S. Congressional Districts. The Third District consisted of Anderson, Knox, Sevier, Blount, and Monroe Counties.
9. Acts of 1832 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 9, Page 18, established electoral Districts for the election of the President and Vice President. There were 15 of these Districts of which Cocke, Sevier, Blount, and Monroe Counties composed the Third.
10. Acts of 1833, Chapter 71, Page 85, reapportioned the State. Sevier, Blount, Monroe, and McMinn Counties made up the Fourth State Senatorial District and the polls would be compared at the house of A. Congers in Blount County. Blount and Sevier County would jointly elect one Representative and the votes would be counted at the home of Robert McCaskie in Sevier County.
11. Acts of 1842 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 1, Page 16, apportioned Tennessee for the General Assembly into 25 Senatorial District of which Cocke, Blount, and Sevier Counties made up the Third. Sevier and Cocke Counties would elect one Representative jointly. All polls would be compared at Sevierville.
12. Acts of 1842 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 7, Page 30, divided the State into eleven U. S. Congressional Districts. The Second District had in it the counties of Jefferson, Grainger, Claiborne, Campbell, Anderson, Morgan, Sevier, Blount, and Monroe.
13. Acts of 1865, Chapter 34, Page 52, was apparently the first apportionment of the State after the Civil War. There were eight U. S. Congressional Districts of which the First was made up of Johnson, Carter, Sullivan, Washington, Hawkins, Hancock, Greene, Cocke, Jefferson, Grainger and Sevier.
14. Acts of 1870, Chapter 25, Page 45, provided under the new Constitution of the General Assembly would be seventy-five until the State reached one and one half million in population. One Representative each was given to Johnson, Carter, Campbell, Anderson, Union, Sevier, Macon, and Hancock counties and the remainder allocated to various combinations, some populous counties having more than one Representative.
15. Acts of 1871, Chapter 146, Page 171, immediately followed the Constitutional provisions incorporated into the act above by the reapportioning the State. Cocke and Sevier County would elect one Representative between them and with Jefferson and Blount counties added they would constitute the Fourth of Twenty-Five Senatorial Districts.
16. Acts of 1872 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 7, Page 28, delineated Tennessee into nine U. S. Congressional Districts. The Second District was made up of Sevier, Knox, Jefferson, Anderson, Campbell, Scott, Morgan, Fentress, Cumberland, White, Putnam, Overton, Jackson, Smith, Macon and Clay Counties.
17. Acts of 1873, Chapter 27, Page 52, reapportioned Tennessee into ten U. S. Congressional Districts using the recently compiled census figures. The Second District was assigned on this occasion the counties of Jefferson, Sevier, Blount, Monroe, Loudon, Roane, Knox, Anderson, Campbell, Scott, Morgan, and Union.
18. Acts of 1881 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 6, Page 10, apportioned the General Assembly based on the 1880 Census figures. Sevier County would elect one Representative alone and be a part of the Third State Senatorial District with Cocke, Jefferson, and Hamblen Counties.
19. Acts of 1882 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 27, Page 34, also reapportioned the U. S. Congressional Districts according to the 1880 census. The counties in the Second U. S. Congressional District remained as they were named in Item 17 except Monroe County was removed, leaving eleven counties.
20. Acts of 1891 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 10, Page 25, reapportioned Tennessee for the General Assembly according to the 1880 census. Sevier, Knox, Jefferson, and Cocke Counties were in the 5th State Senatorial District and Sevier was given one Representative alone.
21. Acts of 1901, Chapter 109, Page 151, established ten U. S. Congressional Districts in the State under the 1900 Census report. Sullivan, Johnson, Carter, Unicoi, Washington, Greene, Hawkins, Hancock, Claiborne, Grainger, Cocke, and Sevier Counties composed the First U. S. Congressional District.
22. Acts of 1901, Chapter 122, Page 812, again apportioned Tennessee according to the 1900 Federal Census figures. Sevier County retained its Representative and joined Cocke, Hamblen, Jefferson and Blount counties in the 4th State Senatorial District.