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Bradley County early voting jumps after tepid start

Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland speaks to the Cleveland Kiwanis Club during his final State of the City address in January at the Cleveland Elks Club.
Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland speaks to the Cleveland Kiwanis Club during his final State of the City address in January at the Cleveland Elks Club. Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland speaks to the Cleveland Kiwanis Club during his final State of the City address in January at the Cleveland Elks Club.

By Paul Leach 3 min read

CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Bradley County turnout took off in the second week of early voting for the Aug. 2 county general and state primary elections.

By Saturday, the Bradley County Election Commission Office had tallied a combined 9,523 early and absentee ballots, which amounts to a 12.7 percent increase over the 8,449 early votes cast in the same elections in 2014.

View our 2018 Voter Guide

With only 4,284 ballots in the bag by the end of the first week of early voting, this election cycle initially tracked flat compared to 2014, despite open primary fields to succeed outgoing Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Sen. Bob Corker.

“I would have been hopeful the turnout would be higher with an open governor’s seat and an open Senate seat,” Fran Green, administrator of the Bradley County Election Commission Office, said midway during the early voting period.

On average, Bradley County early voting locations handled 136 more voters per day in the second week. Friday marked the high-water mark with 1,066 ballots and Saturday earned second place with 984 ballots.