Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett said the state can expect to see about 60% of votes cast in the general election during the early voting period.
“…Early voting, we’ll probably see 60%, maybe even two-thirds of people voting early,” he said. “But it really spreads that number of voters out over a few weeks, rather than on Election Day, when about 33 to 40% of people decide to show up on that one day,” Hargett said.
Hargett was in Shelby County Wednesday morning for the state’s first day of early voting. Early voting began at 11 a.m. on October 16, with at least 50 people lining up outside Second Baptist Church in East Memphis to cast their ballots.
“I love seeing people passionate about it… and making sure they will participate in their form of government,” Hargett said of the line. “I often preach this: when you don’t vote, what you are doing is handing over the keys of government power to those who (do vote)”
Early voting is available at dozens of locations across Shelby County, and voters can choose any location to cast their ballot early. Hargett’s message to voters is to read the ballot before going to the polls and educate themselves on the issues at hand.
“For those who may not feel like they can find good information about what’s on their ballot, where to vote, they can go to the Shelby County Election Commission website,” Hargett said.
The Commercial Appeal also has an online voter guide available free to all readers. The guide contains information about candidates and voting referendums.
For the voters of the city of Memphis, there will be a series of questions ranging from residency requirements for city council candidates to gun reform.
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Regarding the gun referendums, Hargett said the courts have already ruled on the questions on the ballot.
In August, the Shelby County Board of Elections said it would not place the gun-related questions on the ballot, with Hargett also stating he would not approve of the measures on the ballot either.
The case ended up in Chancery Court, where Shelby County Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson ruled that the gun referendums should be placed on the ballot.
Brooke Muckerman covers government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Early voting underway in Tennessee: What the secretary of state expects
