NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennesseans will head to the polls across the state on Thursday, Aug. 6, to vote in the State and Federal Primary and County General election.

“Election officials across the state have spent months preparing for this election to ensure the safety of voters and poll officials,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “I encourage voters to do their part on Election Day and follow social distancing protocols and wear a face covering.”

Voters should expect to see signs with safety instructions at their polling locations. Poll officials will be wearing face coverings and are trained in social distancing protocols.

Polls open at various times, depending on the county. A list of when polls open in all 95 counties is available on sos.tn.gov. All polls in Tennessee close at 8 p.m. EDT/ 7 p.m. CDT.

Early morning, noon and 5 p.m. are peak times at the polls as people typically vote before work, after work or on their lunch breaks. Being flexible and casting your ballot in the midmorning or midafternoon may shorten your time at your polling location. Frail, physically disabled or visibly pregnant voters should tell their election officials if they are unable to wait in line to vote. The law allows these voters to move through the process faster.

Voters need to bring valid (may or may not be current) photo identification to the polls. A Tennessee driver license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Tennessee state government or the federal government are acceptable even if they are expired. College student IDs are not acceptable. More information about what types of ID are acceptable can be found on sos.tn.gov by calling toll free 1-877-850-4959.

State law requires polling locations, and the area within a 100-foot boundary of the entrance to remain campaign-free zones. Tennessee law prohibits the display or distribution of campaign materials and the solicitation of votes for or against any person, party or question on the ballot in these areas. Voters wearing campaign-related clothing or paraphernalia will not be allowed within the 100-foot boundary.

Tennesseans can view voter-specific information including locations, poll hours of operation, sample ballots and much more with the GoVoteTN app or online at GoVoteTN.com. Download the GoVoteTN app for free in the App Store or Google Play.

More than 578,000 Tennesseans voted in person or absentee during the two-week early voting period, which ended on Aug. 1. A comprehensive report by the Division of Elections showing how turnout compared to primary elections in 2012 and 2016 is available on sos.tn.gov.

The Secretary of State is planning to post unofficial State and Federal Primary election results from early voting and Election Day on Aug. 6 at elections.tn.gov. However, due to the larger number of absentee ballots cast during this election, voters should be prepared for results to possibly be delayed.

“The tabulating of absentee by-mail ballots can begin when the polls open on Election Day in each county,” said Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins. “In anticipation of a substantial increase in absentee by-mail ballots, the state purchased additional scanners to help counties with the counting process. However, even with additional scanners and workers, election results could be delayed.”

For more information on the voting process, go to GoVoteTN.com or call the Division of Elections toll-free at 1-877-850-4959.

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Monday, August 3, the Smith County Board of Education held another special meeting to vote on and discuss allowing students back in the classroom in person, and when school should start back. The BOE had previously held a meeting and voted on this topic on July 30, but due to confusion among the board members a second special meeting was held.

This meeting was held at the Smith County Middle School gymnasium. Everyone that attended had their temperatures checked at the door before they were allowed in. Most board members wore masks, and no board members attended via Zoom.

A motion to delay the opening of schools for traditional in-person learning was brought to the floor by Scotty Lewis. The votes for this motion are as follows:

• Tommy Manning: No
• Joe Taylor: Yes
• Ricky Shoulders: No
• Brian Smith: No
• David Apple: Yes
• Marty McCaleb: No
• Robin Moore: Yes
• Scotty Lewis: Yes

The Smith County School System will move forward with the original re-opening plan that was released on July 10, 2020.

The goal of the plan is “a traditional return to school for most students while offering a virtual learning experience for qualifying students who cannot return.”

Currently, Smith County Schools plans to operate with the approved calendar and implement a staggered return to school, beginning with a half-day on August 5 and a full day on August 7.

You can watch the full meeting below.

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The Smith County Board of Education met for a special called meeting at 5:00 pm on Thursday, July 30, 2020.

School board members sat apart from each other. Some school board members wore masks, and some school board members attended via Zoom.

Dr. Duke, chairman of the Smith County COVID-19 Task force, opened the meeting and discussed the infection rates of COVID-19 within the state and within the county, the latter in which the infection rate is currently over the ten percent threshold. “You’re asking for disaster” said Duke, when asked about re-opening on time without remote or virtual options to learning.

There have been 1200 Chromebooks ordered for the purpose of remote learning, and the board wants to be able to have some technology training for teachers and students.

After a lengthy meeting, the board voted and the proposal to open school on time with in person classes moved forward. You can watch the whole meeting below.

A meeting has been scheduled for Monday, Aug 3 at 5:00 pm.

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On Thursday, July 16, 2020, Smith County Insider hosted a Candidate Forum prior to the start of Early Voting on July 17. This event was co-sponsored by Smith County Insider and the Smith County Chamber of Commerce.

All candidates who are on the August ballot were invited to speak at the Candidate Forum. Candidates were invited and notified multiple times via letters and email.

See video below:

Early Voting continues until August 1, 2020. For more information about Early Voting, click here.

Election Day is August 6, 2020.

For more information about voting in Smith County, visit https://www.smithcountyelection.com or https://govotetn.com.

Click here to view a sample ballot.

See you at the polls!

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The following release was submitted by South Carthage Mayor, Hollis Mullinax

The Town of South Carthage has placed a sales tax referendum on the ballot for the August 6, 2020 election. I am here today to ask the voters of South Carthage to please vote for the referendum.

What this means is that sales tax for businesses located within the city limits of South Carthage will increase from 2 % to 2.75%. That’s a very small increase that will barely be noticed when a purchase is made, but in the long run, it will be quite an increase in the tax dollars South Carthage takes in. Carthage and Gordonsville are already using this sales tax rate, and up until the County election in 2018 the entire county was using the 2.75 % sales tax rate. In that election the county placed a referendum on the ballot to decrease the tax rate by .75% and it passed, costing the county and South Carthage a huge amount of lost sales tax revenue each month.

Years ago when the County had originally passed the sales tax increase referendum that increased the sales tax rate to 2.75 % county wide, Carthage and Gordonsville had already passed legislation to increase their sales tax to 2.75 %. By having already passed that legislation, when the county voted by referendum to decrease the sales tax rate back down to 2 % it had no effect on them. South Carthage had not passed the sales tax rate increase referendum previously so we suffered the loss of approximately $6,000 per month in sales tax revenue.

In order to regain at least a portion of that revenue, and possibly avoid an increase in city property tax, we need the sales tax increase referendum for South Carthage to pass. This sales tax increase will not affect any businesses unless they are located within the city limits of South Carthage.

Mayor Hollis Mullinax – Town of South Carthage

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