Many voters locally and across the state have taken advantage of early voting but there are still a few days left to cast your ballots early for the August 4 election.
So far, 866 voters in Carter County have participated in early voting, the Carter County Election Commission reports. That number includes those who voted in person at the Election Commission Office, voters who submitted Absentee Ballots by mail, and residents of local nursing homes who chose to vote in the election, Carter County Administrator of Elections Tracy Harris said.
On the state level, across Tennessee’s 95 counties a total of 149,640 voters had taken part in early voting when the polls closed on Tuesday.
Here locally, the August 4 election will serve as the county’s general election for several positions but also as Republican and Democrat primary elections for state positions and 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 began on July 15 and will continue through this Saturday, July 30, at the Carter County Election Commission Office, located at 116 Holston Avenue. The polls will be open for early voting from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and on Saturday from 9 a.m. until Noon during the early voting period.
Once the early voting polls close on Saturday, Harris said the machines will be locked and sealed and the electronic tally cards which record the votes will be secured. The tally cards will be locked in a secure ballot box and sealed by two Election Commissioners, one representing each party. Each Election Commissioner will place a seal on the box and a padlock. The Election Commissioners will retain the key for their lock until Election Day when the box will be opened and the votes tallied after the polls have closed.
“In no event may the votes for any candidate be totaled until after the polls in the county are closed on Election Day,” Harris said.
Those who wish to early vote should go to the Election Commission Office, located at 116 Holston Avenue, Harris said.
Parking is available at the Election Commission Office, but if the lot at the office is full, Harris asks that voters use the overflow parking in the parking lot of First Baptist Church on the corner of East G Street and Holston Avenue.
“Please do not park at the Carter County Health Department,” Harris said.
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.
City of Johnson City
• Juvenile Court Clerk — two candidates: Suzan Sell Mitchell and Jared D. Taylor.
Republican Primary:
• U.S. House of Representatives 1st Congressional District — two candidates: Phil Roe and Clint Tribble. Earlier this month Tribble announced he was suspending his campaign and withdrawing from the race but the deadline to withdraw had already passed so his name will still appear on the ballot.
• Tennessee Senate 4th Senatorial District — four candidates: John Paul Blevins, Neal Kerney, Jon Lundberg, and Tony Shipley.
• Tennessee House of Representatives 3rd Representative District — one candidate: Timothy Hill.
• Tennessee House of Representatives 4th Representative District — two candidates: John B. Holsclaw Jr. and Tim Lingerfelt.
• State Executive Committeeman District 4 — two candidates: Matthew Jerry Johnson and Jack Young.
Democratic Primary:
• U.S. House of Representatives 1st congressional District — one candidate: Alan Bohms.
• Tennessee Senate 4th Senatorial District — no candidate filed.
• Tennessee House of Representatives 3rd Representative District — no candidate filed.
• Tennessee House of Representatives 4th Representative District — no candidate filed.
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.