Election Day

A state election official says Tennessee could see a record turnout for an August primary tomorrow. State Election Coordinator Brook Thompson says (in an article by Knoxville News Sentinel reporter Tom Humphrey) he's basing that projection on the heavy early vote state-wide.

I checked with Greg Mackay about his projections for Knox County. He believes the vote here will be in the 55,000 to 60,000 vote range. That compares favorably with the 2002 vote when roughly 67,000 Knox Countians turned out at the polls.
Still, it's a far cry from the total number of registered voters in Knox County. As of this election, there are 243,748 registered voters in Knox County. So even if 60,000 people vote, that's still just under 25 percent of the total eligible.
Early voting was supposed to make it more convenient to vote and as a result officials thought voting would go up. It turns out early voting only made it convenient for those who would've voted anyway.
I've only voted early once and decided afterwards that I prefer voting on election day. I guess I'm afraid I might miss something in the campaigns if I vote early.
Afterall the campaigns are still waging their battles right up until the final day. Why vote early when something might be brought up that might change my mind.
Besides, voting on election day feels, to me, more civic-minded. I like standing in line with my neighbors, knowing that in just a few hours we'll all know who won.
Voting early is like watching a game at Neyland stadium, leaving in the third quarter, and finding out who won two weeks later. It's a lot more exciting sticking around for the whole game.
Voting is like that too. Lots of stuff happens in those final days of a campaign. I like to stick around to watch it, then vote.