Early Voting Sluggish in Jefferson County
With only five days of early voting left, the early turnout for Jefferson County has been slow. As of Saturday, July 23, 2016 official numbers for Jefferson County had not, yet, broken the 500 mark with only 473 votes being cast locally, according to the State of Tennessee. Jefferson County Administrator of Elections Charles Gibson stated earlier in the week that he anticipated a low turn out for this election cycle. The ballot for the August 4, 2016 Tennessee State Primary and County General election having few hotly contested races,is the likely contributor to the low voter turnout. Only one State Representative Seat, District 11, is contested. Incumbent Jeremy Faison faces Republican challenger Mike McCarter, but District 17’s Representative Andrew Farmer is uncontested, as is Tennessee Senator Frank Niceley . The District 11 Representative seat also has democrats that will face off in the primary and one will meet the winner of the Faison/McCarter match up later this fall. Locally, seats for Property Assessor and Road Superintendent are both on the ballot but neither Republican Incumbent has a Democrat challenger. Constable and Road Commission seats are contested, as are three School Board seats. There are four candidates for two School Board seats that represent District 2 and two candidates for one School Board seat representing District District 4. Total early voting across the State of Tennessee was just north of 123,000 as of July 23rd.
Gibson stated that he is expecting a high turn out for the November Presidential Cycle, which will also include local city elections. For those interested in participating in early voting, the last day to cast your early voting ballot will be July 30, 2016. Voters should be prepared to show proper identification at both early voting and regular voting day venues. For a list of qualifying identification, you can contact the local election office or check the Tennessee Secretary of State website for more information.
