Memphis municipal primary set for Aug. 4 with mayor, three City Council seats on ballot
Memphis voters are scheduled to cast ballots in the city’s municipal primary on Aug. 4, 2026, with one mayoral seat and three City Council seats listed for election in official city notices.
The contest is a Memphis city election, rather than a statewide race. It places four municipal offices on the primary ballot: the mayor’s office and three City Council seats.
Filing deadline has passed
The deadline for candidate applications was Friday, July 24, 2026. That filing period is closed ahead of the Aug. 4 primary.
The accessible city notice does not provide a final candidate list for the mayoral or council contests. It also does not include a polling-place list, early-voting totals or turnout estimates.
As a result, the available official material confirms the election date and offices at issue, but does not establish the full field of candidates in each race. The notices also do not describe the competitiveness of the contests.
City announced ballot-equipment test
Memphis announced a public accuracy test for the equipment that will be used to tabulate ballots in the August primary. The city’s notice about that test was published June 24, 2026.
The public test is identified in the city’s election notices as part of preparation for the primary. The supplied material does not provide the results of the test or report any issues with the equipment.
What voters know before Aug. 4
The election will decide which voters’ choices are recorded in the mayoral contest and the three City Council races on the city’s primary ballot. But the city notices provided for this report do not establish whether the primary alone will determine the outcome of any particular office.
No winners or turnout figures can be known until official results are released. Likewise, the July 24 filing deadline alone does not show which candidates are viable or how any race may unfold.
The next confirmed step is the Aug. 4 municipal primary. The City of Memphis’ August 2026 calendar provides additional official city-government context for the election period, listing municipal meetings and events during the month.
Voters seeking practical details not included in the accessible election notices—including final candidate information and polling locations—will need information beyond the supplied city materials. For now, the official notices establish the date, the four offices listed for election and the city’s planned ballot-tabulation accuracy test.
Sources
- Election Candidate Applications and Public Accuracy Test notices, City of Memphis
- City of Memphis August 2026 calendar, City of Memphis, Tennessee