Fairview Church opening doors to early voters in October

Blount elections officials are partnering with a Maryville church to expand early voting options ahead of the November races.

Trent Hall, a fellowship space owned by Fairview Church in southwestern Blount County, will serve as an early voting location from Oct. 16 through Oct. 31. By offering the hall to the Blount County Election Commission, Fairview closes a gap opened earlier this year when Foothills Mall management leased space previously used for early voting to Spirit Halloween.

Fairview’s addition brings back to five the total number of early voting spots available in Blount County. Other locations are the Blount County Public Library, the Everett Recreation Center gym, the annex of Providence Baptist Church in Seymour and Pellissippi State Community College’s Friendsville campus.

Planning for November

The Fairview space will be crucial in October, said Blount’s Administrator of Elections Moe Click. Blount County voters will then have their choices among candidates vying for offices from the U.S. presidency to the Maryville City Council, and the elections office is expecting a heavy turnout.

Since Jan. 3,151 people have registered to vote in Blount County, putting the number of total registered voters at a little over 91,500. And by fall, Click told The Daily Times, “We could be knocking at 100,000.”

November voting, he said, will likely dwarf the turnout for upcoming Aug. 1 elections, which will feature primaries at the local, state and federal levels, as well as some local general elections. Replacing Foothills Mall in time for November’s early voting period was a major priority, he noted.

Speaking to members of the Blount County Election Commission Wednesday, June 5, he said that of two strong possibilities — Fairview’s Trent Hall and the gym of Springbrook Recreation Center in Alcoa — he recommended opening up early voting at Trent Hall, which served as Fairview’s church before the current building was constructed. Operating in the church’s space would permit the election commission to place more voting machines in the hall, offer better physical security and more flexibility on hours and disrupt fewer activities than conducting early voting at Springbrook, he said.

Election commissioners agreed, voting unanimously to open early voting with Fairview.

Election Commissioner Dave Bennett commented, “You could put 100 people there in a line, easy.”

Service

The church’s decision is “part of providing a service to the community,” Fairview Executive Director Melissa Tyler told the newspaper. “We’re neutral. We see (offering up the space) as just providing an opportunity for those in our community.”

The election commission reached out about using church property for early voting several months ago, Tyler said in a Wednesday phone interview, and the church’s board of trustees recently agreed to finalize an offer.

A compensation agreement for the hall has not yet been set; the election commission leased space at Foothills Mall at a rate of $750 per election cycle.