Early voting numbers down a bit in county primary
By Mike Steely
Senior Writer
steelym@knoxfocus.com
Knox County voters cast 21,807 ballots as of the closing of early voting Thursday evening; the most voting came on the last day when the polls stayed open until 7 p.m.
Election administrator Chris Davis said Friday the total number of votes was down about 6,000 from four years ago. In that race there were three main candidates for the Republican choice for Knox County Mayor.
This year Mayor Glenn Jacobs is running unopposed for the Republican nod. There are three Democratic challengers, Bob Fisher, Tyler Givens and Debbie Hensley, hoping to be chosen to oppose Jacobs in August.
But most of the attention in early voting seems to be spurred by the Republican races and particularly the race for Knox County Sheriff. Given no Democratic opponent which ever candidates wins the nomination will be the sheriff.
The turnout for the Republican Primary as 17,358 or better than 4-1 over the Democratic Primary’s 4,449.
Total turnout was heaviest in Downtown West with 4,429 voters followed by Farragut with 3,484, Halls with 2,644, New Harvest Park with 2,576. The EXPO Center saw 1,860 voters and Karns had 1,731 people voting. The South precinct had 1,312 voters, the City County Building saw 1,177 voters, Carter, 669, and Eternal Life Church had 569 votes cast.
