BY THE NUMBERS15,666: Early voters in 2010 August election16,799: Early voters in 2006 August election207,962: Registered voters in Hamilton CountySource: Hamilton County Election Commission
As early voting wrapped up Saturday, Hamilton County election officials noticed voters were picking up Republican ballots at a ratio of 5-to-1.
Charlotte Mullis-Morgan, administrator for the Hamilton County Elections Commission, ordered 15,000 more for Thursday’s county general and state primary.
Dr. Richard Wilson, a professor of political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said that’s a sign of trouble ahead for local Democrats running in county races.
“It’s a grave danger for Democrats,” he said.
But Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Brown said the numbers are misleading.
“I don’t think that’s an accurate representation of the numbers,” Brown said. “All of the local candidates are on the ballot, no matter which one you pull.”
Brown, a candidate for register of deeds against incumbent Republican Pam Hurst, said many local Democrats are voting on the Republican ballot.
He said local candidates are better known among voters, making it less likely someone will vote against a Democratic candidate simply because of party affiliation.
High-profile county races featuring Democratic incumbents include the District 6 County Commission race between incumbent John Allen Brooks and Republican Joe Graham, and the county clerk’s race between incumbent Bill Knowles and Republican Chester Heathington.
Delores Vinson, chairwoman of the Hamilton County Republican Party, suspects the rise in Republican participation predicts what will happen Thursday.
“People are fatigued,” she said. “They are in financial distress. So many things are going wrong, they lay them, rightly or wrongly, in the lap of Democrats. The pendulum is swinging back toward us.”
Wilson said the heavy Republican turnout will give an “enormous boost” to Republican general election candidates.
He attributed the high turnout to the heated GOP 3rd congressional District primary, which is focusing mainly on front-runners Robin Smith and Chuck Fleischmann; and the GOP gubernatorial primary with Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.
Across Tennessee, the state broke an early voting record with more than 543,000 people casting ballots before the primary.
With all 95 counties reporting, Secretary of State Tré Hargett said Monday that the number exceeds the 447,910 who voted early for the August 2006 elections, the last contested statewide Republican primary.
Hargett attributed the high turnout to three open congressional seats and a highly contested gubernatorial primary, which features three major Republican candidates and one Democratic candidate.