Early voting ends Saturday, July 27 , in Anderson County for the Aug. 1 county general election and state primaries.
Times are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. Registered Anderson County voters can vote at either of the three early voting locations, regardless of where they live in the county. The early voting locations:
- Clinton Community Center, 101 Hicks St.
- Midtown Community Center (Wildcat Den), 102 Robertsville Road, Oak Ridge
- North Anderson County Government Office, 3324 Andersonville Highway, Andersonville
Few people are voting
As of Tuesday, July 23, a total of 3,565 people had voted early in Anderson County, according to information from the county Election Commission. Early voting began July 12. The early voting figures included 2,484 people voting in the Republican Primary and 1,056 in the Democratic Primary.
The majority of votes - 1, 792 - were cast in Oak Ridge, followed by Clinton with 997 and the Andersonville site with 552 votes.
Mark Stephens, Anderson County Election Commission administrator, said early voting is down in Anderson County, as well as across the state.
Anderson County
In the county general election, the only countywide races are unopposed. They are:
- CHANCELLOR - Daniel Forrester , who won in the county Republican Primary earlier this year.
- ASSESSOR OF PROPERTY - Incumbent John K. Alley Jr., who also won in the Republican Primary.
The other county races are in specific districts and only registered voters of those districts can vote in these races. They are:
- ANDERSON COUNTY COMMISSION, DISTRICT 6 - Aaron Wells, the Republican nominee, and Ebony Capshaw, the Democratic nominee. District 6 is the Oak Ridge City Hall (Senior Center), Robertsville, and West Hills precincts - all in Oak Ridge. The winner will fill the unexpired term of Catherine Denenberg , who moved to Florida in April 2023. The county commission apponted Wells to the position in May 2023, having him serve until the next election. Capshaw was one of the people who applied for the position at that time.
- COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 3 - Incumbent Dail R. Cantrell, the Republican nominee, and Sharon Burlingame, an Independent candidate. District 3 is the Andersonville, Fairview, Glen Alpine and Norris precincts.
- COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 4 - Republican nominee Darren Carden and incumbent John S. Burrell, an Independent candidate. District 4 includes the Briceville, Clinton Middle, Lake City Middle and Rocky Top (community center) precincts.
- COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 5 - Sherri Jarnigan-Beaty, the Republican nominee, Democratic nominee Theresa Evans Venable, and incumbent Andy McKamey, an Independent candidate. District 5 is made up of the Clinton High School, Dutch Valley, Marlow and Norwood precincts.
- COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 8 - Incumbent Glenda J. Langenberg, the Republican nominee, and Democratic nominee David Miller. District 8 is Oak Ridge's Emory Valley, Hendrix Creek and Woodland precincts.
- CITY JUDGE - James T. "Jim" Normand Jr. Normand was appointed several months ago by Oak Ridge City Council to serve as city judge, following the retirement of longtime City Judge Robert "Bob" McNees. All Oak Ridge registered voters will vote in this race. He is unopposed. But you will see Normand on the Nov. 5 ballot, as well. Why? According to Anderson County Election Commission Administrator Mark Stephens, the Oak Ridge city charter calls for a special election to be called, "to fill the unexpired term, during the next regularly scheduled election (Aug. 1)." The regular election for city judge is Nov. 5. Anyone wishing to challenge Normand in the Nov. 5 election has until Aug. 15 to qualify, Stephens said.
Tennessee primaries; some city races
In the primary elections, voters have to chose whether they are voting in the Republican or Democratic primary. Once a primary is chosen, residents will vote for party nominees for U.S. House and Senate seats, and Tennessee House seats. In addition, there is a Republican primary for several school board positions. The winners of these party races will face other candidates for the final vote on Election Day Nov. 5.
The races:
- U.S. SENATE - In the Republican Primary, incumbent Marsha Blackburn is running against Tres Wittum. In the Democratic Primary, the candidates are Marquita Bradshaw, Lola Denise Brown, Gloria Johnson and Civil Miller-Watkins.
- U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 3 - Incumbent Chuck Fleischmann is running in the Republican Primary. Jack Allen is running in the Democratic Primary.
- TENNESSEE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 33 - In the Republican Primary the candidates are John D. Ragan of Oak Ridge, the incumbent, and Rick Scarbrough of Clinton. Anne Backus of Oak Ridge is running in the Democratic Primary.
- TENNESSEE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 41 - Incumbent Ed Butler is seeking the seat in the Republican Primary. The Democratic Primary candidate is Joel Derek Hawn.
- OAK RIDGE SCHOOL BOARD - Candidate Mary Crank is running.
- CLINTON SCHOOL BOARD - In Ward One, Debra L. Heaton and Joey Smith are running. Voters will get to vote for two in this race. In Ward Three, where people can vote for one candidate, no candidate qualified.
Wanted: More poll workers for Aug. 1; questions about voting?
Stephens said he needs more people to work the polls in Oak Ridge. Anyone who is interested in working Thursday, Aug. 1, should call the election commission office at 865-457-6238.
Questions concerning voting or elections can be directed to the Anderson County Election Commission at the website: https://www.acelection.com/ or by calling 865-457-6238. The email address is acec@andersoncountytn.gov .
The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Email her at dsmith@oakridger.com and follow her on Twitter@ridgernewsed.
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This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Early voting ends Saturday for Anderson County election, state primaries
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