Early voting for the August 4 county general, Smithville, Liberty and Dowelltown city and state primary elections begins tomorrow (July 15). Voting will continue Mondays through Saturdays and end on July 30.
(CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW SAMPLE BALLOT)
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DeKalb County Administrator of Elections Dennis Stanley is encouraging voters to take advantage of early voting.
“Voting early lets people cast a ballot when it’s convenient for them,” Stanley said. “The flexibility means everyone doesn’t have to vote on Election Day.”
“Tennesseans broke records during the March 1 ‘SEC Primary’ by taking advantage of early voting,” said Secretary of State Trey Hargett. “It will be exciting to see Tennesseans participate in the electoral process this August and November.”
Early voting will be conducted on the first floor of the DeKalb County Courthouse in Smithville. Hours of early voting are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays; 9 a.m. until Noon on Saturdays; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays; and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays.
Sample ballots can be found on wjle.com; dekalbelections.com; or GoVoteTN.com and at the DeKalb County Election Commission office.
Tennesseans voting early or on Election Day should remember to bring valid photo identification. Photo IDs issued by Tennessee state government, including driver’s licenses, or the federal government are acceptable even if they are expired. College student IDs are not acceptable.
The only county wide race on the ballot August 4 is for Assessor of Property between Democratic Incumbent Scott Cantrell and Republican challenger Shannon Cantrell. The winner will serve four years.
Three positions on the DeKalb County Board of Education are up for election on Thursday, August 4 but only one race is contested.
Incumbent 5th district member W.J. (Dub) Evins, III is being challenged for re-election by Barry Mabe and Kevin Hale.
6th district incumbent Doug Stephens is unopposed for re-election.
In the 4th district, Kate Miller is unopposed for the election to fill the remaining two years of her husband Billy Miller’s unexpired term. He resigned in 2014 and she was appointed to serve until this election.
The 5th and 6th district winners will serve four years.
The other school board members, Danny Parkerson in the 1st district; Jerry Wayne Johnson in the 2nd district; Jim Beshearse in the 3rd district, and Shaun Tubbs in the 7th district were elected in 2014 and are in mid-term. Their terms are up August 31, 2018.
Two candidates are running to fill the remaining two years of an unexpired county commission term in the 1st district. Republican Thomas Chandler and Democrat Julie Williams Young are vying for the seat. They were each nominated by their party during conventions earlier this year. No independents qualified for the position. The winner will fill the seat left vacant by Elmer Ellis, Jr. who resigned.
Constables will be elected to serve four years. Only one race is contested. In the first district Republican Lee Plummer and Democrat Jason Taylor are seeking the position.
The other candidates for constable are unopposed as follows:
Constable 2nd District—Thomas Theriaque, Republican
Constable 3rd District—Travis Bryant; Democrat
Constable 4th District—Paul Cantrell, Democrat
Constable 5th District—Mark Milam, Democrat
Constable 6th district—Carl Lee Webb, Democrat
Constable 7th district—Johnny King, Democrat
The Smithville Municipal Election will be contested on Thursday, August 4th.
Five candidates are in the race in which three aldermen will be elected, each to serve a four year term.
Incumbents Shawn Jacobs, Josh Miller, and Danny Washer are running for re-election along with newcomers Ronald Dale Stanley and Richard Steinbach.
Also on August 4th, Dowelltown voters will elect a mayor and alderman. The only candidates to qualify were Pam Redmon for mayor and William A. Davis for alderman. Another alderman position was to have been filled in the election but no other candidate qualified. The terms are for four years.
The Liberty Municipal Election is also set for Thursday, August 4th. Dwayne Blair, Todd Dodd, and Jason Ray are each seeking a four year term as alderman. They are unopposed. J.D. Bratten will be a candidate for alderman to fill a one year unexpired term.
State Representatives Terri Lynn Weaver of Lancaster in the 40th district and Mark Pody of Lebanon in the 46th district will be challenged for re-election this year.
Representative Weaver will be unopposed for re-nomination in the Tennessee Republican Primary on Thursday, August 4th but she will have a Democratic opponent in the November 8th General Election.
Gayla Colvert Hendrix of Smithville and Teresa Marion of Smith County are seeking the Democratic nomination for State Representative in the 40th district in the Tennessee Democratic Primary on Thursday, August 4th. The winner will face Weaver in November.
The 40th district includes Smith, Trousdale and part of DeKalb and Sumner Counties.
Meanwhile, Representative Pody will be unopposed for nomination in the Tennessee Republican Primary on August 4th but he will be opposed by Democrat Amelia Hipps of Lebanon in the November 8th General Election. Hipps is unopposed for nomination in the Tennessee Democratic Primary on August 4th.
The 46th district includes Cannon, and part of Wilson and DeKalb Counties.
Each term is for two years.
Sixth District Congressman Diane Black of Gallatin is facing opposition in the Tennessee Republican Primary on Thursday, August 4th.
Her opponents in the Republican Primary are Joe S. Carr of Lascassas, Tommy N. Hay of Monterey, and Donald Strong of Crossville.
Two candidates, David W. Kent of Cottontown and Flo Matheson of Crossville, are running in the Tennessee Democratic Primary.
The Republican and Democratic nominees will be on the November 8th General Election ballot along with Independent David Ross of White House.
The term is two years.
The 6th Congressional District includes Pickett, Fentress, Cumberland, White, DeKalb, Cannon, Coffee, Wilson, Smith, Jackson, Overton, Clay, Putnam, Trousdale, Macon, Sumner and Robertson Counties and small portions of Van Buren and Cheatham counties.
Ten seats on Tennessee’s state-level courts are up for retention elections on August 4. Three seats on the Tennessee Supreme Court join three seats on the Tennessee Court of Appeals and three seats on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.
The supreme court justices at large standing for retention are Holly Kirby, Jeff Bivins, and Roger A. Page.
The appeals court judges standing for retention are Kenny Armstrong, Brandon O. Gibson, and Arnold B. Goldin (All Western Division)
The court of criminal appeals judges standing for retention are J. Ross Dyer (Western Division) Timothy L. Easter (Middle Division), Robert L. Holloway,Jr. (Middle Division), and Robert H. Montgomery, Jr. (Eastern Division)
Voters will be asked to either “retain” or “replace” each judge or justice.
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