On Tuesday, Tennesseeans will be joined by residents of nine other states in casting their votes in the Presidential preference primary.
Joining Tennessee in “Super Tuesday” will be the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont and Virginia.
Voter turnout for the election is expected to be high, possibly breaking previous records.
And, if the number of voters who came out for early voting is any indication, records could be broken.
Across the state of Tennessee, 385,653 residents voted early or cast absentee ballots, making 2016 the largest turnout for a presidential preference primary in the state’s history. This year’s numbers easily bested the previous record from the 2008 election — the first year current President Barack Obama ran for office — which saw 329,154 Tennesseeans voting early.
“On average, between 25 and 30 percent of Tennesseans vote early in presidential preference primaries,” said Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “That means turn out on March 1 could easily hit one million or more.”
Anticipated high voter turnout paired with the potential for incredibly long ballots due to the number of candidates and delegates seeking to be chosen could translate into long lines at the polls on Tuesday.
“We’re encouraging people to be informed and educated voters and be ready to go behind the curtain and go vote once they get there,” Hargett said.
To help voters be prepared, both Hargett and Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins recommend voters download the state’s smart phone voting app — GoVoteTN — which is available for free in the App Store or on Google Play. The easiest way for voters to find their early voting and Election Day polling locations, view and mark sample ballots, see their elected officials, districts and county election commission information as well as access online election results is through the GoVoteTN app, Hargett said.
“We have a sample ballot there. People can look at it in advance and they can choose their candidates,” Goins said. “We expect a big turnout, which is great. We want the increased enthusiasm, but at the same time we want to make sure everyone’s prepared.”
State law allows voters to use the GoVoteTN app to assist them to vote while casting their ballots.
On the local front, elections officials are also preparing for Tuesday’s events.
Friday morning, the Election Commission held open inspection of the voting machines where party representatives and political candidates were invited to come to the Election Commission office to view the inspection of machines. The inspections are held prior to the machines being sent to the precincts to ensure that no votes have been cast on the machine.
Once the machines are inspected, each machine is sealed with a pair of numbered seal tags. On Election Day, the election officer at each precinct will inspect the tags to make sure the numbers match up with the tag numbers listed for that machine, said Carter County Administrator of Elections Tracy Harris. This helps to ensure that the machine has not been opened since the inspection.
On Monday morning, the election officer from each precinct will pick the machines up from the Election Commission office and transport them to their precinct, Harris said.
“They will lock them up overnight at the precinct location to make sure they are secure,” Harris said.
The machines will be inspected at each precinct site on Tuesday morning and the election officer will print off a “zero tape” to show no votes have been cast on the machine before the polls open, Harris said.
In addition to the presidential preference primary, voters in Carter County will also see some local positions on the ballot.
The Assessor of Property office is up for election this year. The current Assessor of Property Ronnie Taylor is the only candidate who filed paperwork to qualify to run for the post. He will appear on the county’s Republican primary ballot.
Joining Taylor on the Republican primary ballot will be James Lauderback, the only candidate who filed for the Circuit Court Judge position and candidates for two unexpired terms on the Carter County Commission.
In the county’s 1st District, three candidates will face off for the Republican nomination to the unexpired term — Dr. Robert Acuff, Robert “Bob” Robinson Jr. and Michael Warren.
Voter’s in the county’s 3rd District will also be selecting a Republican nominee to fill an unexpired term. In that race, Bradley Johnson is running unopposed.
Tennesseans voting on Election Day should remember to bring valid photo identification. A driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security as well as photo IDs issued by Tennessee state government or the federal government are acceptable even if they are expired. College student IDs are not acceptable.