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By Buzz Trexler

Star Correspondent

Election officials across the tri-county area reported no problems with early voting for the Aug. 1 Carter County primaries and general election.

“We had a total of 2,257 in-person voters and 147 by mail for early voting,” Carter County Administrator of Elections Tracy Tanner-Harris said by email after the early voting period closed on Saturday. “Keep in mind, the absentee (ballots) will still be coming in up until the post office closes on Aug. 1.”

“We had 1,237 early voters,” wrote Sara J. Fain, Unicoi County administrator of elections, pointing out that the total includes mail-in ballots and nursing home voting. “We did not have any problems with photo ID.”

Johnson County Administrator of Elections Cheri Lipford reported 2,000 early voters and no problems.

As Aug. 1 nears, voters are reminded they need to bring an active or expired state- or federally-issued photo identification card. Accepted photo ID cards include Tennessee driver’s license; U.S. passport, Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security; a photo ID issued by the federal or Tennessee state government, such as a U.S. Department of Energy; U.S. military photo ID, including a veteran identification card; and Tennessee handgun-carry permit.

“The biggest issue we usually run into on election day is people coming to our office or going to the wrong polling place,” Fain said. “Voters are encouraged to look at their voting card to check their polling place location. They can also call their county election office or look online at tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup.”

Early voting began on July 12 and ended on July 27. The deadline for absentee ballot requests ended on July 25.

Polls will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1.

On the Carter County Ballot

There are 11 offices on the General Election ballot, all of which have unopposed candidates: Jason E. Clawson, County Commission District 6; Lesley Hughes, County Commission District 7; Jerry C. Stout, County Commission District 8; Shane Simerly, Assessor of Property; Shannon Burchett, Superintendent of Roads; Keith Bowers, School Board District 1; Danny R. Ward, School Board District 4; Nancy (Renee) Lewis, School Board District 6; Dylan Hill, School Board District 8; Michael Mason, Constable District 2; and Shannon Bower, Constable District 5.

With no Democratic opposition, all but three of those offices were decided during the March 5 Republican Primary, with unexpired County Commission Districts 7 and 8 seats and the District 5 Constable post becoming open due to resignations within the past year. District 8 Commissioner Cody McQueen resigned in December 2023, and District 7 Commissioner Daniel McInturff submitted his resignation in January. District 5 Constable Mark Carrier resigned early this year.

After representing the 4th District in the state House of Representatives since 2015, state Rep. John B. Holsclaw Jr. decided against reelection and instead sought the Republican nomination for Carter County Assessor of Property, losing to Simerly in the March 5 primary.

Since no candidate filed for the Aug. 1 Democratic Primary in the House District 4 race to represent Unicoi County and part of Carter County, voters in the Republican Primary will effectively decide the seat as they choose between Curt Alexander, longtime mayor of Elizabethton, and Renea Jones, president of Jones and Church Farms in Unicoi.

Timothy Aaron Hill, incumbent in the District 3 state House race, is unopposed in the Republican Primary, while Lori Love is unopposed in the Democratic Primary for that seat. District 3 includes Johnson County and part of Carter, Hawkins, and Sullivan counties, including Blountville.

Incumbent Marsha Blackburn, who has represented Tennessee in the U.S. Senate since 2019, is opposed by Tres Wittum in the race to retain her seat. Blackburn was the first woman to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Senate. If elected, the 36-year-old Wittum would be the first Millennial in that seat; Blackburn is 72.

In the Democratic Primary for the U.S. Senate, there are four candidates: Marquita Bradshaw, of Memphis; Lola Denise Brown, of Nashville; Gloria Johnson, of Knoxville; and Civil Miller-Watkins, of Rossville. Bradshaw was the party’s nominee to oppose Blackburn in 2020; Johnson currently serves District 90 in the state House of Representatives.

Diana Harshbarger is unopposed in the Republican Primary for her 1st District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. There are two candidates for the nomination in the Democratic Primary: Kevin Jenkins, of Sneedville, and Bennett H. Lapides, of Gatlinburg. Lapides lost the 2020 race for the state House District 12 seat (part of Sevier County), being soundly defeated by Republican Dale Carr.

Also on the ballot are the questions of judicial retention regarding state Supreme Court Judge Dwight Tarwater and Court of Criminal Appeals Western Division Judge Matthew J. Wilson.

Voters in the Johnson City District will have the opportunity to vote on two referendums regarding changes to the city charter, as well as Juvenile Court Clerk and Johnson City School Board seats.