Early voting for Aug. 4 underway
Early voting got underway on Friday, July 15, in the polling place at the Anderson Crossing shopping center in Andersonville. Early voting for the Anderson County Aug. 4 general election and statewide primary election will continue through July 30. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Through Monday, a total of 1,002 people had voted, according to the Anderson County Election Commission.
That included 375 on Monday. Among those voting Monday, 256 declared themselves to be Republican and 104 Democrat.
For the first day, Friday, a total of 488 people voted, including 345 for the Republican primary and 116 for the Democrat primary,
On Saturday, 139 voted – including 96 Republicans and 32 Democrats.
The total early vote count through the first three days included 697 Republicans and 252 Democrats.
For the Anderson County general election, positions being filled are for county offices, including mayor, sheriff, trustee, register of deeds, Circuit Court clerk, county clerk, road superintendent, constables, Circuit and Criminal Court judge, General Sessions judges, Juvenile Court judge, county school board, County Commission seats, public defender, and district attorney general (7th).
Oliver Springs is electing a city judge and a court clerk/finance officer.
For the state primary election, Republican and Democrat candidates are being chosen for the Nov. 8 general election for governor, U.S. House of Representatives, Tennessee Senate, and Tennessee House of Representatives.
There also is a long list of statewide judges who are on the ballot for voters to choose to “retain” or “replace,” including the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Early voting hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. till noon on Saturday.
Locations for early voting are: Clinton Community Center, 101 S. Hicks St., Clinton; Midtown Community Center, 102 Robertsville Road, Oak Ridge; and Anderson Crossing Shopping Center (Norris/Andersonville), 3310 Andersonville Highway, Andersonville.
Anderson County Election Administrator Mark Stephens reminds voters that “state law requires that the polling place be a political-free zone when you go there. If someone comes in wearing anything that is political in any fashion, we will ask the voter to remove that. Most people will comply.”
“But American flags are OK,” Stephens said. “That’s a patriotic symbol, and an American flag is posted at every voting location by state law.”
He also noted that no campaign materials or advertisements are allowed “within 100 feet of the entrance or inside the polling location.”
At the Andersonville Crossing polling place, several candidates have campaign tents set up in the parking lot just outside the 100-foot point.
No vote tallies will begin until election day, Stephens said.