Early voting
In Hamilton County, early voting takes place Oct. 19-Nov. 3.The last day to register to vote is Oct. 11.A photo ID, issued by the State of Tennessee or the federal government, is required to vote.Following is a list of early voting polling locations.Brainerd Recreation Center1010 North Moore RoadMonday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.Eastwood Baptist Church4300 Ooltewah-Ringgold RoadMonday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.North River Civic Center1009 Executive Drive, Suite 102Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.Election Commission Office700 River Terminal RoadMonday-Friday 8 a.m.-7 p.m.Saturday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.For more information on registering to vote or absentee voting, visit elect.hamiltontn.gov
If you want to vote in the 2016 presidential election on Nov. 8, you need to register by Tuesday.
Early voting for Hamilton County begins Oct. 19 and ends Nov. 3, said Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett. Tennessee does not have Election Day voter registration.
“We had tremendous success getting Tennesseans to register or check their status during September, which was National Voter Registration Month,” said Hargett, whose office hit social media with photos of prominent Tennesseans who say they’ve registered.
“Now the deadline is approaching,” Hargett added. “If you plan to vote in the presidential election, your voter registration application must be received or postmarked by Tuesday.”
Terry Lee, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, urges people to be proactive in exercising their voting rights.
“If you haven’t voted in a while, you should check with the elections office to make sure you are still on the voter rolls,” Lee said. “If you don’t find out until Election Day that your records have been purged, you will have your voting rights disenfranchised.”
Voters need to act now to ensure their registrations are up to date and have the correct name and address, Kerry Steelman, administrator of Hamilton County Elections, said Wednesday.
“Doing so prior to Election Day will prevent potentially lengthy delays at the polls,” Steelman said. “This information can be reviewed by clicking on the Check Your Voting Info/GoVoteTN tab on the Election Commission website at HamiltonElections.com.”
Tony Sanders, chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party, could not be reached for comment.
Voter registration is not permanent, according to the Hamilton County Election Commission.
“As required by law, all 95 County Election Offices in Tennessee purge voter registration records on a daily basis,” reads the election commission website. “Upon receipt of notice that ‘John Q. Public’ has registered in another county or state, his name is immediately purged from the Hamilton County voter database. Should ‘Mr. Public’ attempt to vote in Hamilton County, he will be advised that he was purged from our records when he registered elsewhere.”
Voter registration requires an applicant to be a United States citizen, a legal resident of the county in which the person will vote and 18 years of age or older by the date of the election. Convicted felons may not vote unless their rights have been restored in accordance with state law.
Applications must be received by the elections office if delivered by hand by the Oct. 11 deadline, or postmarked by that date if mailed. Registrations with a missing or incomplete Social Security number, signature or other deficiency will be rejected.
Voters must present a photo ID, issued by the State of Tennessee or the federal government, to vote. The list of approved IDs includes, but is not limited to Tennessee driver’s licenses, United States passports and U.S. military IDs.
College student IDs are not acceptable under Tennessee’s mandatory photo-ID law.
“A very large” voter turnout is expected during the early voting period and Election Day, said Adam Ghassemi, spokesman for the Office of Tennessee Secretary of State.
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @pleach_tfp.