Last week of early voting is underway in Tennessee and Georgia

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- We have reached the last week of early voting in our area.

This comes as Election Day is just 8 days away.

Secretary of State Tre Hargett visited Chattanooga this morning to remind voters that there’s only a handful of days left to early vote here in Tennessee.

Sec. Hargett said, “If you don’t go vote, you give the keys of power of government to those who do. So get out and get your voice heard and it’s great to see so many people in line this morning doing that.”

So far through two weeks of early voting, turnout in Tennessee is similar to the 2020 election and higher than 2016, over 30 percent of all registered voters in the state.

We saw a lengthy line around noon on Monday at the Hamilton County Election Commission.

Sec. Hargett said, “We’ve seen a large falloff in absentee ballots this time around as you would expect, it’s gone back more to like 2016 and 2022 numbers instead of the 2020 numbers when we were in the Covid period.”

Turnout in our North Georgia counties is similar with some exceptions, as Catoosa County is reporting an abnormally high 45 percent turnout rate for early voting.

With the contentious nature of the election, election security is at a premium.

Sec. Hargett said, ” We are now ranked number one in election integrity for three years in a row, so Tennesseeans should feel comfortable knowing your vote will be counted once, no more, no less… The people that you see working at your local polling place, that’s Republicans and Democrats working side by side to make sure your vote is counted.”

We asked voters such as Hodgen Mainda how they feel about election integrity.

“No fear whatsoever. I feel very confident in the way elections are done, especially in our state,” said Mainda.

Those we talked to say it’s time to get to the ballot box if you haven’t.

Mainda said, “Voting is so powerful. Decisions are made on our behalf. You may not like one person or the other, but just the opportunity to go and let your voice be heard, that is so powerful.”

The last day to early vote here in Tennessee is on Thursday, Halloween, October 31.

In Georgia that day is on Friday, November 1.