Early voting begins today
This is one of three early-voting sites in Anderson County for the May 5 primary election. This is the county government office on Andersonville Highway in Norris.
The most hotly-contested race is for the Republican nomination for county mayor, which pits the incumbent, Terry Frank, against challenger Joshua Anderson, who is now a District 3 county commissioner.
Overall, the May 5 primary includes Republicans and Democrats seeking spots on the Aug. 6 general election ballot.
There are three locations for early voting:
• Anderson County Fair Association building, 218 Nave St., Clinton.
• Midtown Community Center, 102 Robertsville Road, Oak Ridge.
• Anderson County Government Offices, Anderson Crossing Shopping Center (Norris/Andersonville), 3324 Andersonville Highway, next door to Anderson Crossing Pharmacy.
Voting hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. until noon Saturday.
The only other countywide race is for the Republican nomination for sheriff, with two candidates facing off.
Sheriff Russell Barker has a single opponent in the GOP primary, David G. Davis.
No one is running for sheriff in the Democratic primary, but there is an independent candidate – Colt Jennings – whose name will show up only on the Aug. 6 general election ballot. Jennings will face the winner of the Republican primary in the general election.
With only two candidates running for county mayor, both as Republicans, the primary is expected to decide the winner.
Frank was the first candidate for any county office to pick up and file a petition to run, seeking re-election to the post she has held since Sept. 1, 2012.
The mayor serves a four-year term, but Frank was initially elected to fill out the two years remaining on the term of her predecessor, who resigned mid-term.
Frank was re-elected to four-year terms in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Qualifying deadline was Feb. 19 for the May 5 primary, and any candidates wanting to run as independents in the partisan positions – including the countywide positions such as mayor, sheriff and others, and the County Commission and county Board of Education – in the Aug. 6 general election.
But this early-voting period is for the May 5 primary races only.
There are at least two candidates who made the ballot to run in all eight County Commission districts, for the two available seats in each district. Commissioners serve four-year terms.
Three candidates for County Commission who initially filed to run as Republicans changed their petitions to run instead as independents — Tina Graham Targonski, for District 2, Tracy Wandell for District 1, and Kevin Craig, for District 7. Their names will appear only on the Aug. 6 ballot.
Only the incumbents qualified to run for the other five countywide positions, all in the Republican primary.
They are Rex Lynch for Circuit Court clerk, Regina Copeland for county trustee, Jeff Cole for county clerk, Tim Shelton for register of deeds, and Gary Long for road superintendent.
Property Assessor John Alley’s position is not on this year’s ballot, nor are any of the judgeships.
Four of the eight county School Board district seats are up for election this year, for a four-year term.
The open seats are in School Board Districts,1, 2, 6 and 7.
Candidates have qualified for all four of the open seats, but three candidates – in Districts 1, 6 and 7 – are running as independents and will be only on the general election ballot on Aug. 6.
Districts 1 and 2 have one candidate each running unopposed in the Republican primary May 5.
Candidates who have qualified for County Commission in the primary (two seats open per district) are:
• District 1 – Chad McNabb (R), Raymond Neil Phillips (R).
• District 2 – Michael Y. Foster (R), Denise Palmer (R), Ronald C. Meredith Jr. (R).
• District 3 – Shannon Gray (R), Shelley Vandagriff (R), Rodney Archer (D).
• District 4 – Richard Constanzo (R), Tim Isbel (R), J. Shain Vowell (R), Amy Jones (R).
• District 5 – Martin “Marty” May (D), Robert McKamey (R), Jeff Pack (R), Karin Martin Partin (R), Barbara Vickery (R).
• District 6 -- Anthony Allen (R), Aaron Wells (R); Ebony M. Capshaw (D), Derek Guy (D).
• District 7 – Sabra Beauchamp (R), Nathan Mullins (R), Sharon Bourgeois Capshaw (D), Steve Verran (D).
• District 8 – Jawrell Cook (R), Don A. Layton (R); Emily S. Wallace (R), Ashley Craven (D), Elizabeth “Liz” Henry (D).
School Board candidates who have qualified:
• District 1 – Ray Hagan (R), Jo Williams, independent (Aug. 6 ballot only).
• District 2 – Katherine Birkbeck (R).
• District 6 – Scott Gillenwaters, independent (Aug. 6 ballot only).
• District 7 – Don A. Bell, independent (Aug. 6 ballot only).
Early voting for the Aug. 6 general election will run from July 17-Aug. 1.
The deadline to request absentee ballots for the May 5 primary is April 25.
