Election officials prep for county primaries

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) – There are 130 voting precincts in Hamilton County.

And on Tuesday, Hamilton County voters will head to one of the 81 polling places to cast their ballots.

“Preparation for elections takes place for months. Of course we really get down to the nitty gritty, you know, within the last few days as we’ve begin to prepare for officers of election to come in and pick up election supplies and to pick up the equipment that will be needed for election day,” Hamilton County Administrator of Elections Kerry Steelman said.

In Hamilton County, there are some commission races.

One hotly contested race on the republican ballot is for District 8 Commissioner with Brent Lambert running against the incumbent Tim Boyd.

“There are a number of offices this time around that are unopposed in this primary. However, there are several offices that are, two countywide offices where there’s opposition in the Register of Deeds office as well as the Circuit Court Clerk,” Steelman said.

In Bradley County, they’ll be heading to the polls to vote for a Sheriff.

The candidates are mostly on the Republican ballot.

Only one candidate is listed on the Democratic sample ballot.

It’s hard to say how many people will turnout to vote.

According to the Cleveland Daily Banner, over 9,000 people voted early.

In Hamilton County, a little over 8,000 people voted early.

“For the May county primary, the turnout is typically in the neighborhood of 8 to 10 percent. We have a total 245,000 registered voters, but of that amount approximately 192,000 are active registered voters,” Steelman said.

Hamilton County Administrator of Elections Steelman stressed that these races are important and encourages registered voters to educate themselves on the races and let your voice be heard at the polls.