KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Less than five percent of currently registered voters in Knoxville who voted in the 2020 Presidential Election have early voted in the Knoxville Primary Election according to a release from the City of Knoxville.
The city released the numbers for the first half of early voting, which lasts 14 days in total, and only 3,072 votes have been cast of the 64,585 registered voters who voted in the 2020 election.
That number includes the 2,831 early votes that have been cast along with 590 votes cast by absentee ballots. A majority of those votes were cast by those ages 55 and older. Only 209 18- to 34-year-olds have early voted and 497 voters ages 35 to 54, the release says.
District 2, which covers much of the area around Kingston Pike and the far west side of Knoxville, has cast the most votes so far. The release says the districts have cast:
- District 1 – 411
- District 2 – 1,019
- District 3 – 437
- District 4 – 766
- District 5 – 335
- District – 453
Compared to the last five elections, August 2023 early voting is in the middle of the spectrum as far as early voting goes. The City of Knoxville said the early voting and total votes cast in those elections were:
- August 2019 – 3,428 early votes (total votes cast – 19,304)
- August 2015 – 813 early votes (total votes cast – 4,748)
- August 2011 – 4,402 early votes (total votes cast – 22,609 – this included a State Senate election on the ballot)
- August 2007 – 1,015 early votes (total votes cast – 6,682)
- August 2003 – 4,815 early votes (total votes cast – 29,883)
The City of Knoxville says the deadline to request absentee ballots for the primary election is Tuesday, August 22, and can be requested by calling the Election Commission at 865-215-2480 or by downloading an absentee request at www.knoxvotes.org
Early voting hours and locations are available here.
In addition to the hours listed on their website, the city says the City-County Building in downtown Knoxville will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, August 19, and polls will be open until 7 p.m. on the last two days of early voting (August 23 and 24), aside from Meridian Baptist in south Knoxville, which will close at 5 p.m. on August 23.
