News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Early voting numbers for Tuesday’s election hit record highs in many of the counties across the Upper Cumberland.
Putnam County Election Administrator Michele Honeycutt said some 20,819 voted early, an increase of about one thousand over the 2020 election. Honeycutt said they still expect a busy election day with some thirty percent of the county projected to vote Tuesday.
“I think that there’s a lot of people interested in this election,” Honeycutt said. “I think that’s the main thing. And it’s convenient. There’s fourteen days you can pick from to come. We’re even open on Saturdays. Election day you never know is it going to be raining, is it going to be snowing, so early voting is really the best way to go.”
White County Election Administrator Sherry Anderson said they had 8,647 citizens vote early, up about six hundred from 2020. Anderson said they attribute the increase to the population growth their county has seen in the past four years.
“I think a lot of it is timing,” Anderson said. “People want to get out and vote, and that way they don’t have to worry about standing in line on election day. They may have other things that they have to do, work, that type of thing that their time is limited.”
Fentress County Election Administrator Joey Williams said they had 7,072 early voters, an increase of about five hundred fifty. Williams said he thinks the higher volume of indicates a large turnout for Tuesday as well.
“Four years ago we had 12,836 registered voters,” Williams said. “In Fentress County for the election of 2024 we’ve got 14,445.”
Clay County Election Administrator Monica Davis said they 2,187 early ballots cast with an additional 115 absentee votes. Monica Davis said they were only twenty-one voters short of reaching the same number they saw in 2020.
“I’m pretty sure we’re still going to have a good turnout on election day,” Davis said. “The way the talk is around the county, there’s still a lot of people that will show up.”
Cumberland County saw 25,099 early voters. Election Administrator Jill Davis said this is a new record with an increase of a couple thousand over the last presidential election. Jill Davis said they are hoping to see ten to twelve thousand more votes come into the county on Tuesday.
DeKalb County recorded its largest early voting turnout ever with 6,397 ballots submitted.
