Early voting begins Wednesday, October 17 for the November 6 balloting and based on the recent rate of new voter registrations, turnout could be heavy for this election.
“There has been a tremendous amount of interest in this particular election,” said Dennis Stanley, Administrator of Elections. “Since the August election, we have registered over three hundred new voters. That may not sound like a lot but it is a lot for a county this size in a period of time that short. So we know there is going to be heavy interest. In fact, in the Presidential election in 2008 over seven thousand votes were cast here during that race. That included early voting and election day. We hope that to avoid possible long lines on election day, people will come out and vote early,” he said.
(CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW SAMPLE BALLOT)Sample Ballot
Stanley said the schedule of early voting for this election offers a variety of times to make it as convenient as possible for the voters. “Early voting will start October 17 and run through November 1. There are various times for early voting. All early voting is being done on the first floor of the DeKalb County Courthouse. The hours for early voting on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.; on Mondays from noon until 5:00 p.m.; on Thursdays from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.; and on Saturdays 9:00 a.m. until noon. This gives voters a variety of times to choose to come and vote. We have three or four days of mid morning voting and two days of afternoon voting so this should be ample opportunity for voters who work during the day or who work out of town to get here and vote during one of those time periods including Saturday morning. We hope that people will vote early,” said Stanley.
Remember to make sure your address is correct on your voter card before election day. “We’re going to have a lot of voters this time that probably have not voted in an election or two and they may have moved,” said Stanley. “The best way to handle that is to come and vote early. If you come and vote early we can change your address right here and then there is not a major problem. If you wait until election day, you may end up going to two different precincts because your voter card may say you vote at DeKalb Middle School but you moved and didn’t tell us and didn’t get a new card so you may have to go to the county complex or somewhere else to vote. You may have to go to two places. So look at your voter card. See where your precinct is and see what the address is on that voter card. If that is not your current address you need to contact us. The best way to solve that problem is to come by our office and fill out a new voter registration card with the new address or come and vote early. We can do everything then. If you wait til election day, you may be going to two different places,” said Stanley.
Remember voters at the polls must show a valid state or federal-government issued photo I.D. to vote. For more information call the election commission office at 597-4146 or visit www.dekalbelections.com. Tweet at http://twitter.com/dekalbelect
Sample ballots are available for voters who want to see how the ballot is laid out ahead of time. “There will be a sample ballot on the wall of the courthouse during the early voting period,” said Stanley. “There will be sample ballots at the voting precincts on election day. If you would like to see a sample ballot in advance we have one on our website at www.dekalbelections.com. WJLE has used the sample ballot on their website before so there are ways to look at the races. Also just remember, depending upon where you live, depends on whether or not you will vote in the liquor referendum and depending on where you live will depend on whether or not you vote for a state representative in district 40 or district 46,” said Stanley.
DeKalb County voters may cast ballots for President of the United States, a U.S. Senator of Tennessee, U.S. Representative of the Sixth Congressional District, and State Representatives of the 40th & 46th districts. City of Smithville voters will also decide the outcome of a liquor referendum.
In the Presidential race, the ballot includes:
Electors for Mitt Romney for President and Paul Ryan for Vice President (Republican Nominee)
Electors for Barack Obama for President and Joe Biden for Vice President (Democratic Nominee)
Electors for Virgil Goode for President and Jim Clymer for Vice President (Constitution Party Nominee)
Electors for Jill Stein for President and Cheri Honkala for Vice President (Green Party Nominee)
Electors for Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson for President and Luis J. Rodriguez for Vice President (Independent Candidate)
Electors for Gary Johnson for President and James P. Gray for Vice President (Independent Candidate)
Electors for Merlin Miller for President and Virginia D. Abernethy for Vice President (Independent Candidate)
Candidates for the U.S. Senate are:
Bob Corker (Republican Nominee)
Mark E. Clayton (Democratic Nominee)
Kermit Steck (Constitution Party Nominee)
Martin Pleasant (Green Party Nominee)
Shaun E. Crowell ( Independent Candidate)
David Gatchell (Independent Candidate)
James Higdon (Independent Candidate)
Michel Joseph Long (Independent Candidate)
Troy Stephen Scoggin (Independent Candidate)
U.S. House of Representatives (6th Congressional District)
Diane Black (Republican Nominee)
Pat Riley (Green Party Nominee)
Scott Beasley ( Independent Candidate)
Tennessee House of Representatives (40th District)
Terri Lynn Weaver (Republican Nominee)
Sarah Marie Smith (Democratic Nominee)
Tennessee House of Representatives (46th District)
Mark A. Pody (Republican Nominee)
City of Smithville
Liquor Referendum
“To permit retail package stores to sell alcoholic beverages in the City of Smithville”
“Not to permit retail package stores to sell alcoholic beverages in the City of Smithville”
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