Last day for voter registration is Tuesday
Tuesday is the last day to register to vote in the Aug. 2 county general election and state and national primaries for Congress, the Tennessee General Assembly and governor.
Eligible voters must be American citizens over age 18. People who have been convicted of a felony can’t register unless they have had their voting rights restored by a judge.
If you don’t know whether you are registered to vote, the Hamilton County Election Commission has a link to the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website and the GoVoteTn web app.
Registration can be done online, by mail or in person at the election commission office, 700 River Terminal Road. You must have a photo ID issued by the state or federal government to register.
ON THE BALLOT
The county general election is for voters to choose between Republican and Democratic candidates for constitutional offices. There are contested races for register of deeds, sheriff and county mayor as well as four county commission races.
Five nonpartisan Hamilton County Board of Education seats also are
contested, and there are races for Lookout Mountain commission and school board, Signal Mountain judge, and state Republican and Democratic executive committee positions.
The state and national primaries will decide which candidates in the same parties will go on to the November general election for U.S. Senate and House, governor, Tennessee Senate in odd-numbered districts and Tennessee House.
A last-minute change in Tennessee’s House District 26 race has forced the election commission to reprint some of the ballots and replace some absentee ballots already mailed to military and overseas voters.
Incumbent Republican Gerald McCormick had qualified for re-election but dropped his bid two weeks ago after taking a job that will require him to move out of the district. Chattanooga businesswoman Robin Smith became the consensus candidate to replace him.
County Elections Administrator Kerry Steelman said he expects an expense of less than $6,000 for replacing the ballots. The election commission is set to meet Monday to approve the replacement ballots.
SAFE VOTING
Steelman also said the county has signed up for an election security program through the Department of Homeland Security. A notice on the election commission website says the county has partnered with the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center for “threat and vulnerability monitoring, incident response and remediation and tools for implementing security best practices.”
“This new way to quickly share information with our local, state and national counterparts offers us the latest information about known or potential threats,” Steelman said. “I’m proud this new layer of protection doesn’t cost our county one penny.”
EARLY VOTING
Early voting takes place July 13-28 at the following locations:
› Brainerd Rec Center, 1010 N. Moore Road
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday
› Collegedale City Hall, Fuller Community West Room, 4910 Swinyar Drive
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday
› Election Commission, 700 River Terminal Road
8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday
› Hixson Community Center, 5401 School Drive
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Voters must have a Tennessee driver’s license or other state or federal photo ID to vote.