The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming August election is drawing close.
In order to be eligible to vote in August 4 state and federal primary and county general election, residents must be registered by July 5. Voters can either turn in their forms in person or mail them in to the Carter County Election Commission office. Mailed in registration forms must be postmarked by July 5 to be counted as eligible.
Registration forms can be picked up at the Carter County Election Commission Office, the County Clerk’s Office, the Register of Deeds Office and in public libraries, Carter County Administrator of Elections Tracy Harris said. Also, she added, residents have the opportunity to register to vote when they conduct a transaction with any of the following agencies: Department of Health (WIC program), Department of Human Services, Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the Department of Mental Health, Department of Safety – Motor Vehicles Division and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.
Voter registration forms are also available online for download through the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website at http://sos.tn.gov/elections.
“The Secretary of State page is awesome,” Harris said. “People can look up to see if they’re registered, where they vote at, their Senate and House districts, and sign up for the Honor Vote where they vote in honor of a veteran and the state will send them a button pin.”
The website has a lot of useful tools for voters, Harris said.
The upcoming election will be held on Thursday, August 4. The election will serve as the county’s general election for several positions, but also as Republican and Democrat primary election for state positions as well as federal positions other than the Presidency. The ballot will also feature retention elections for the judges serving on the Tennessee Supreme Court and Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
Early voting for the August 4 election will be held from Friday, July 15 through Saturday July 30 at the Carter County Election Commission Office. The polls will be open for early voting from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until Noon during the early voting period.
Local seats on the ballot for the August 4 election are as follows:
Carter County:
• Assessor of Property —one candidate: Ronnie Taylor
• County Commissioner District 1 unexpired term — one candidate: Robert Acuff
• County Commissioner District 3 unexpired term — one candidate: Bradley Johnson
• County Commissioner District 8 unexpired term — two candidates: Kelly Collins and Rick Richardson
• Constable District 7 unexpired term — one candidate: Ken Potter
• Circuit Court Judge 1st Judicial District unexpired term — one candidate: James Lauderback
• Carter County School Board Member District 1 — two candidates: Noel Church and Craig Davis
• Carter County School Board Member District 4 — one candidate: Rusty Barnett
• Carter County School Board Member District 6 — three candidates: Steve Chambers, Kelly Crain and Jesse James.
• Carter County School Board Member District 8 — one candidate: Jerry Stout
The Carter County Election Commission office is located at 116 Holston Ave., Elizabethton. For more information on the meeting, upcoming elections or voter registration questions, contact the office at 423-542-1822 or by email to elections@cartercountytn.gov.