The Tennessee Supreme Court refused to hear appeals [1] by Herb Moncier to postpone the upcoming May 2nd primary or to decide if term-limits apply to county officials other than county commissioners. This leaves the question completely up in the air, and sets the stage for more confusion and lawsuits during and after the May 2nd primary and the August elections. Moncier has already filed new motions [2] to delay the primary. Meanwhile, there is no question that twelve county commission candidates on the May 2nd primary ballot are ineligible to hold office. Yet the names stay on the ballot and the election goes on. According to the Knoxville News Sentinel [3] (registration required) leaders from both the Democratic and Republican parties say they will nominate replacement candidates should any term-limited candidates win in the May 2nd primary:

GOP Chairman Brian Hornback said his party would hold a convention in each commission district in which a disqualified incumbent has won the primary. Democratic Party Chairman Jim Gray said his party would hold an election to pick new candidates.

No other details are available regarding how this will work exactly, raising concerns of "back room deals" by local political machines to hand-pick candidates without voter input. New county commission candidates are also mounting write-in campaigns. So far, eleven have qualified [4] (plus Randy Tyree for Sheriff, who has to run as a write-in because he missed a state deadline for certification). To have their votes counted, write-in candidates have until April 12th (when early voting starts) to file a certification form. Another issue that isn't being discussed much is how all this might affect voter turnout. With most candidates ineligible, and many others running unopposed, will voters stay home in droves? Would that vindicate local power brokers who want to hand-pick replacement candidates? What a mess. This is starting to make voters and election officials in Florida look like electoral geniuses in comparison.