Upper Cumberland election officials reported a steady start to early voting Wednesday as residents began casting ballots for the November election.
Overton County Administrator Of Elections Craig Story said voters consistently used the voting machines throughout the morning. He said it remains too early to determine what the opening-day activity will mean for overall turnout.
“I think we’re gonna do pretty well. There’s some excitement that’s floating around out there for the different races that are going on,” Story said. “We’ve got a local race that’s going on here, County Commission District 1. So there’s some things to drive some turnout.”
Putnam County Administrator Of Elections Jennifer Murphy said 594 people had voted by the middle of the first day, already surpassing the 506 ballots cast during the entire first day of early voting in November 2022.
“This morning we had people waiting in line before 8am,” Murphy said. “And by lunchtime we were holding steady at about 100 voters per hour.”
Murphy said the turnout was somewhat slower than her office anticipated with the governor’s race on the ballot. She said the pace typically changes throughout the early voting period.
“Normally it’s busy in the beginning, it kind of slacks off in the middle, and then it’s busier again at the end of early voting,” Murphy said. “So this is a little unusual, but I don’t think it’s going to just be horribly slow either. I think it’ll be steady.”
Story said several contested races may be helping generate interest in this year’s election. Story said an open governor’s race and other open seats make comparisons with the election four years ago difficult.
Murphy said occasional lines formed during the day, but most voters were completing the entire process in about 10 to 15 minutes despite the length of the ballot.
Fentress County Administrator Of Elections Joey Williams said about 120 people had voted by midday.
“So far it’s been good,” Williams said. “I mean we’ve got machines set up, we’ve got eight early voting machines, and the flow’s been good, and no waiting. So that’s why we encourage everybody to come in and vote early.”
Williams said the first-day pace remained consistent throughout the morning and similar to four years ago.
White County Administrator Of Elections Sherry Anderson said the lengthy ballot did not result in significant delays during the first part of the day.
“I’d say we have a little bit more than what we were expecting,” Anderson said. “Wasn’t real sure with the ballot, how many would be out on that first day, but we’ve had a really good turnout today.”
Anderson said the election office is providing copies of the constitutional amendments for voters who want to review them before receiving a ballot.
“Since the ballot is so large with those amendments, if people would take a moment and do some research and read over those amendments that are on the ballot so they’ll have a good awareness of them,” Anderson said. “I think that helps with the lines, whether it be early voting or on election day.”
Anderson said voters can find information about the amendments on the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Election Division website. Murphy also encouraged voters to review the sample ballot before arriving and reminded them to bring a Tennessee-issued photo ID or federal government-issued photo ID.