Members of the Carter County Election Commission began work preparing for the upcoming August election during the group’s meeting on Monday.
The major order of business for the Election Commission on Monday was setting the officers and election workers for each of the county’s 22 precincts as well as the list of those who will work the polling place at the Election Commission Office during early voting.
Each precinct on election day has one precinct officer, two or more judges, at least two registrars and at least two machine operators. The number of judges, registrars and machine operators is determined by the number of registered voters for that precinct, Carter County Administrator of Elections Tracy Harris said.
A few changes were made to the list of workers and precinct officers that were used in the primary election held in March of this year. Most of those changes were due to the worker’s availability, Harris said.
Harris reported to the Election Commission that an officer who had served in one of the precincts in March had voiced a concern about one of the workers in that precinct. “She said he called people ‘honey’ and ‘baby’,” Harris told the Election Commission.
Commission Chairman Doug Buckles said either he or another member of the Election Commission would speak to the man in question about how he addresses others while working at the precinct. Buckles asked Harris to contact the election officer who had voiced the concern and to let her know the Election Commission was handling her complaint.
The next upcoming election will be held on Thursday, August 4. The election will serve as the county’s general election for several positions but also as Republican and Democrat primary election for state positions as well as federal positions other than the Presidency. The ballot will also feature retention elections for the judges serving on the Tennessee Supreme Court and Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
Early voting for the August 4 election will be held from Friday, July 15 through Saturday July 30 at the Carter County Election Commission Office. The polls will be open for early voting from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until Noon during the early voting period.
The deadline to register to be eligible to vote in the upcoming August election is July 5. Registrations must be received in the office or be postmarked by that date to be eligible.
Local seats on the ballot for the August 4 election are as follows:
Carter County:
• Assessor of Property —one candidate: Ronnie Taylor
• County Commissioner District 1 unexpired term — one candidate: Robert Acuff
• County Commissioner District 3 unexpired term — one candidate: Bradley Johnson
• County Commissioner District 8 unexpired term — two candidates: Kelly Collins and Rick Richardson
• Constable District 7 unexpired term — one candidate: Ken Potter
• Circuit Court Judge 1st Judicial District unexpired term — one candidate: James Lauderback
• Carter County School Board Member District 1 — two candidates: Noel Church and Craig Davis
• Carter County School Board Member District 4 — one candidate: Rusty Barnett
• Carter County School Board Member District 6 — three candidates: Steve Chambers, Kelly Crain and Jesse James.
• Carter County School Board Member District 8 — one candidate: Jerry Stout
The Carter County Election Commission office is located at 116 Holston Ave., Elizabethton. For more information on the meeting, upcoming elections or voter registration questions, contact the office at 423-542-1822 or by email to elections@cartercountytn.gov.