While Tuesdays election ran smoothly according to local officials, the voter turn out was not one for the record books.
The early voting period for this election saw a record number of voters turning out both here in Carter County and across the state. While the early voting record was broken, the total voter turnout for this presidential election fell just shy of the mark.
A total of 21,318 Carter Countians cast ballots in this election, which includes the 11,619 who took advantage or either early or absentee voting.
The overall turnout record in Carter County for a Presidential election was set in 2008 when 21,989 county residents cast their ballots.
All in all, 67.57 percent of Carter County’s registered voters took part in this election.
Both state and local officials anticipated high voter turnout on Tuesday and predicted voters could encounter long lines at the polls.
Those lines never materialized in Carter County according to local election officials. Carter County Administrator of Elections Tracy Harris said none of the precincts reported any long lines or wait times and none reported any technical issues with equipment.
“It went rather smoothly,” Harris said. “A lot of them said there were times throughout the day when it was slow.”
Throughout the day on Tuesday staff at the Carter County Election Commission Office were busy assisting voters who came or called with questions regarding their registration status or precinct locations. Staff also assisted precinct officers with questions regarding the processes for allowing a voter to cast a provisional ballot.