Early voting begins Friday, July 12

NEWPORT — Friday begins the first day for early voting at Western Plaza for the August state primary and county general election.

Early Voting runs from July 12 through July 27 at 157 Western Plaza. Voting hours will be 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Friday, July 12, and the same hours during the following week from Monday, July 15, through Friday, July 19. Early voting will be open later during the last week, with weekday hours 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday, July 22, through Friday, July 26. Early voting will be available for three Saturdays, with hours on July 13 and July 20 of 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. and July 27, the last day, from 8:30 a.m. until noon.

Election day is Thursday, Aug. 1, from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. at your assigned polling place.

For the August election, voters may choose one of the following three options when appearing to vote or when requesting an absentee ballot: State Republican Primary with general election; State Democratic Primary with general election or general election only.

Both the Republican and Democratic ballots feature a contested primary for United States Senate, and the Democratic ballot has a contested primary for United States House of Representatives.

Each office on the County general election ballot is unopposed, including Assessor of Property and three County School Board seats (Districts 3, 5, and 7).

Two state judicial retention questions conclude the ballot.

All voters receive the general election ballot specific to their county voting district, regardless of which state primary ballot they choose, if either.

The ballot is light, but the election commission office encourages Cocke County residents to keep a strong voter history by participating in the August state primary and county general election this summer. More information can be found online at CockeCountyElections.org or by calling (423) 623-2042.