NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee voters are turning out early at a much faster clip than they did in the last midterm, though not quite at the level of 2018, according to figures from the state Division of Elections.
Through the first eight days of early voting, which ended Thursday, more than 665,600 people had cast ballots. That works out to 13.85% of registered voters and is more than 57% above the 2022 total at the same point. In 2018, by comparison, 810,056 Tennesseans had voted after eight days.
The tallies include in-person early voters, mailed absentee ballots and votes cast at licensed care facilities. Because Tennessee does not register voters by party, the state reports no partisan breakdown of who has voted.
Several large counties are well ahead of their 2022 numbers. Shelby County, now split among three congressional districts, had close to 89,000 ballots in, nearly 70% above its 2022 pace. Williamson County was up almost 69% with 35,982 votes. Both remain behind their 2018 totals.
The ballot is crowded with open seats. The governor race features Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Democrat Jerri Green and independents David Hatley and Lauren Pinkston. Congressional Districts 5 and 9, both redrawn by lawmakers this spring, have no incumbent on the ballot and stretch from Memphis across rural West Tennessee into Williamson County.
In District 9, Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson faces Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor. In District 5, former state agriculture commissioner Charlie Hatcher, who beat incumbent Andy Ogles in the August GOP primary, takes on Democrat Chaz Molder, the mayor of Columbia. Both parties have spent heavily there over the past three months.
Early voting runs Monday through Saturday for 14 voting days in all, finishing Thursday, Oct. 29. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
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