First 5 days of voting
* 22,578 votes cast in the 2008 presidential election* 24,072 votes cast in the 2012 presidential election* 26,228 votes cast in the 2016 presidential electionSource: Hamilton County Election Registrar
For the first time in Tennessee, a majority of votes in the presidential election may be cast before election day.
And contrary to fears of some claiming the election results could be "rigged," Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett insisted Wednesday that local election officials in Tennessee's 95 counties are conducting fair and accurate counts of ballots being cast in record numbers.
In the first week of early voting, more than 737,000 Tennesseans cast their ballots at early voting sites across the state, up by more than 20 percent from the voting levels in the same period during the previous presidential election in 2012.
"Tennesseans have broken records this election cycle, and Nov. 8 will be an incredibly busy day across this state, so we're urging all voters, if they can, to vote early and avoid the election-day lines," Hargett said during a visit to the early voting site at the Hamilton County Election Commission.
If current trends continue, Hargett said, over half of those voting in the presidential election this year in Tennessee may cast ballots during the early voting period, which began Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 3.
In Hamilton County, the number of people who cast ballots during the first five days of early voting was up nearly 9 percent from four years ago and was more than 16 percent above the number of votes cast at the same time in the 2008 election, which ended up drawing record turnouts in most of America.
Since Tennessee began early voting in person prior to Election Day in 1994, a growing number of voters are casting ballots during the two weeks prior to Election Day.
"It's convenient and allowed me to avoid any lines on Election Day," said Ed Lowe, a military retiree who moved to Harrison last year.
Hargett said presidential elections bring out the most voters, adding that local election officials have helped register many more voters this year to cast ballots in Tennessee, where about 3.9 million adults are registered to vote, including 196,518 in Hamilton County.
Four years ago, about 63 percent of those registered to vote cast ballots in the presidential election.
In Hamilton County, voters may cast ballots at early voting sites at the Brainerd Recreation Center, the Eastwood Baptist Church in Ooltewah, the North River Civic Center near Northgate Mall in Hixson and at the Election Commission office off Amnicola Highway.
To find your nearest voting location for either early voting or Election Day sites, go to the GoVoteTN app or the web site GoVoteTN.com. Anyone with concerns about voter fraud should call the Division of Elections toll free at 1-877-850-4959.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.