Could non-residents decide the city council races?

By Mike Steely
Senior Writer
steelym@knoxfocus.com

Early voting for the city primary hit the halfway point last week, and the turnout numbers are low so far. The primary election for five new Knoxville City Council members is August 26, and the general election is set for November 4.

In the first few days of early voting, none of the precincts recorded more than 100 voters per day. At the halfway point, a total of 2,002 early votes were cast with an additional 472 absentee ballots. It’s possible that many potential voters aren’t following the contests or don’t know they can vote at any of the early polling places.

Most Knoxville residents probably don’t know that 230 voters who don’t live in the city could decide a race or two, if their claimed property is within the districts involved in this election. But how do non-residents qualify to vote inside the city?

The Knox County Election Commission maintains specific eligibility requirements and a registration process for non-resident property-qualified owners interested in voting. For example, the property must have a minimum lot size of 4,000 square feet and have been purchased at least six months prior to the election day. The full list of guidelines can be found at https://knoxcounty.org/election/pdfs/Property_Qualified_voting.pdf

Could a few votes in a low turnout election choose the candidates? It has happened before and may impact the city council primary.

“We have seen a little less than 1,200 voters through the first four days of early voting,” Chris Davis, administrator of the Knox County Election Commission, told The Focus early last week.

“It’s very slow, but the good news is there are still a lot of voters that can help narrow the field in these district races. Ten days of early voting left, with generous hours and six locations – no excuses for not casting a ballot!”

Early voting ends on Thursday, August 21.