As represented by three signs here, the Anderson County primary election includes three candidates for mayor, the incumbent, Terry Frank, left; her Republican opponent, Commissioner Zach Bates, right; and Democrat Jim Hackworth, center, a former state representative.
Early voting started Wednesday in Anderson County, and close to 800 residents cast ballots in the first two days, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.
The early voting is for the May 6 Democratic and Republican primaries in Anderson County.
WYSH said 410 people voted Wednesday, and 378 voted Thursday. The two-day total was 788.
The Republican primary has been more popular, with 645 votes cast so far. That primary features four contested races: mayor, sheriff, chancellor, and juvenile court judge. About 82 percent of the ballots cast have been in the GOP primary.
There is only one contested race in the Democratic primary, and that’s for juvenile court judge. One hundred forty-three voters, or about 18 percent of them, cast ballots in the Democratic primary on Wednesday and Thursday, WYSH said.
The radio station said the 410 votes on the first day of early voting on Wednesday was up from 180 first-day votes in the last county primary in 2010. Turnout on Wednesday was highest at the Clinton Community Center, where 164 people voted. Eighty-eight people voted at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge, and 65 people cast ballots at the North Anderson Government Office in the Anderson Crossing Shopping Center.
You can vote weekdays at all three locations from 10 am to 6 pm and on each of the next two Saturdays from 9 am to 12 noon. Early voting concludes on May 1st. For more information, visit www.acelect.com or call (865) 457-6238.
You can read more about the candidates and the races in the 2014 Election section on Oak Ridge Today.
Here are a few more pictures of supporters and their signs from early voting on Wednesday and Friday:
Carol Donath says
I know there are a lot fewer people living in the Roane Co. part of Oak Ridge, but I haven’t heard anything about elections or primaries in Roane. Are there any?
johnhuotari says
Thanks for asking, Carol. There are elections in Roane County, but not until August. Sorry we haven’t done anything yet, but we’ve been more focused on the Anderson County primaries.
Among the races of interest could be county executive, where Mike Farmer may be running to take back his old job from Ron Woody, and sheriff, where Jack Stockton, the incumbent, may have competition. It looks like Rep. Kent Calfee may have a challenger as well. I’ll have to double-check the status of these races, though.
You can see the list of Roane County candidates in the Aug. 7 election here: http://new.roaneelections.com/uploads/April_9.PDF
According to the list posted on the Roane County Election Commission website, there are also three people running for Circuit Court clerk, two each for Circuit Court judge and public defender, and the Roane County commissioners in District IV, James Brummett of Oliver Springs and Steve Kelley of Oak Ridge, appear to be running for re-election.
The Roane County Election Commission has a list of the offices up for election here: http://new.roaneelections.com/uploads/Offices_up_in_2014.pdf
Carol Donath says
Thank you, John.
johnhuotari says
You’re welcome. As you may know, there are also other elections as well, including several local municipal elections and state and federal primaries and general elections. We’ll do our best to keep up with them all.