Election, vote, voting tileNASHVILLE - Tennessee's early voting last week was down by almost a third during its first four days over a somewhat comparable 2010 mid-term election, according to state figures.
Data provided by Secretary of State Tre Hargett's office shows 104,464 registered voters took advantage of early voting from its start last Wednesday through Saturday.
That compares with 152,859 people who voted during the first four days of early voting in 2010. It's a 31.65 percent decrease.
Early voting in the Nov. 4 election continues through Oct. 30.
Both 2010 and 2014 are mid-term elections, meaning there is no presidential contest on the November ballot. Voter interest and turnout typically falls in comparison to presidential election years.
Voter interest in this year's mid-term has been described as low in many parts of the country, especially among Democrats.
Like 2010, the top of this year's Tennessee ballot features a governor's race. But unlike four years ago, it's not much of a contest. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam is virtually guaranteed reelection over Democrat Charles V. "Charlie" Brown.
Brown unexpectedly won Democrats' primary in August, has $106 in his campaign coffers and has done almost no campaigning.
Republican U.S. Lamar Alexander faces more of a contest from Democrat Gordon Ball, a Knoxville trial lawyer who has put some of his own money into his campaign. But the contest is seen by national observers as safe for Alexander.
Still, there are some hot issues on the ballot. Voters are being asked to decide whether to add four amendments to the Tennessee Constitution.
Among them is Amendment 1, which would make the state constitution silent on abortion, thus voiding a 2000 state Supreme Court ruling granting additional abortion protections. The amendment would empower the General Aseembly to pass more laws regulating abortion clinics and abortion.
Other amendments include a proposal that would largely enshrine state laws regarding the selection and retention elections of the five state Supreme Court justices and 24 other appellate judges.
A third amendment would bar state lawmakers from ever enacting a general state income tax, although critics say it's already unconstitutional under existing language.
Amendment 4 would add veterans' groups to the list of nonprofit organizations permitted to conduct once-a-year gambling fundraisers such as raffles.