Voter turnout in Tennessee under 14 percent for Aug. 1 election

Election commissions across the state are looking to certify the results of the Aug. 1, 2024, general election and state and federal primary races. 

The Secretary of State’s office reported Tennessee has approximately 4.6 million registered voters. While the final number of votes cast in the Aug. 1 election is expected to change upon official certification by the 95 county election commissions, the unofficial voter turnout reported for the most-recent election shows only 13.86 percent of the state’s registered voters cast a ballot. As of Aug. 6, voter turnout was reportedly 637,509 statewide.

Madison County saw a voter turnout of 18.62 percent, with 11,730 registered voters casting a ballot for the Aug. 1 election. Unofficial results show 8,221 opted for a Republican ballot and 3,375 opted for a Democratic ballot in the county for the primary races. More votes were cast during the early-voting period in Madison County at 6,796 ballots compared to election day. 

Statewide, there were 353,774 ballots cast during the early-vote period with Friday, July 26 seeing the largest number of votes at 27,252. Saturday, July 27 was the final day to cast an early ballot in Tennessee for the Aug. 1 election.

The state and federal primary races included U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives seats, in addition to Tennessee General Assembly seats.

The Republican ticket saw current U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn facing competition from Tres Wittum. Blackburn took 367,111 votes (89.48%) compared to Wittum’s 43,228 votes (10.52%) statewide. 

Blackburn also carried Madison County with 7,164 votes (90.95%) compared to Wittum’s 713 votes (9.05%).

Four candidates vied for the Senate seat on the Democratic ballot.

State Rep. Gloria Johnson was the top vote-getter in the state for the Senate seat with 143,904 votes (70.2%) cast in her favor. Marquita Bradshaw had the second-highest number of votes in the state with 44,635 (21.77%). Lola Denise Brown saw 10,025 votes (4.89%), while Civil Miller-Watkins saw 6,420 votes statewide.

The following unofficial totals were reported from Madison County in the Democratic primary U.S. Senate race:

Johnson - 1,441 votes (45.93%);

Bradshaw - 1,158 votes (36.47%);

Miller-Watkins - 289 votes (9.1%) and

Brown - 287 votes (9.04%).

Current U.S. House of Representative Congressman David Kustoff (TN-08) of Shelby County is seeking re-election to his seat. Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District comprises Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Tipton, and Weakley counties. It also contains a large piece of Shelby County, including the eastern part of Memphis, half of Tipton County, and a small piece of Benton.

Kustoff was unopposed in the Republican primary, picking up 55,801 votes (110%) district-wide. There were 7,344 votes cast in his favor from Madison County.

Five candidates sought the Congressional seat on the Democratic ticket. Sarah Freeman secured the nomination with 5,551 votes (33.74%) cast in her favor district-wide. Brenda Woods saw 4,577 votes (27.82%) in the district. The other three candidates and their total votes across the district were Lynette Williams with 2,886 votes (17.54%), Leonard Perkins with 2,160 votes (13.13%) and Lawrence A. Pivnick with 1,278 votes (7.77%).

Although Freeman was the top vote-getter across the district, Madison Countians favored Woods, who picked up 1,182 votes (38.89%). Williams was their second pick with 697 votes (22.94%). Freeman garnered 644 votes (21.19%) in the county. Perkins saw 387 votes, while Pivnick had 129 votes cast in his favor in Madison County.

Voters in Tennessee were asked to replace or retain a Supreme Court justice and a judge for the Court of Criminal Appeals in the Western District.

Dwight Tarwater kept his seat on the Tennessee Supreme Court carrying 72.86 percent for retention and 27.14 percent for replacement. In Madison County, Tarwater was favored with 77.56 percent of the vote to retain him in comparison to 22.44 percent voting for replacement.

Statewide, Matthew J. Wilson of Jackson was also retained for his Court of Criminal Appeals judgeship at 74.06 percent, compared to 25.94 percent who voted to replace him.

He also saw favor in his home county, garnering 79.29 percent of the votes in Madison County to retain him, compared to 20.71 percent voting to replace him.

Three members of the Tennessee General Assembly were unseated Aug. 1 out of east Tennessee. Each candidate was defeated in their Republican primaries.

Sen. Jon Lundberg of Bristol, who represented Hawkins and Sullivan counties in District 4, was defeated by Bobby Harshbarger. Lundberg saw 10,668 votes in his district compared to Harshbarger’s 11,540 votes.

In Tennessee’s 8th Senatorial district, comprising Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Sevier and Union counties, Sen. Frank Nicely was defeated by Jessie Seal in the Republican primary. Niceley garnered 8,132 votes in his district, compared to Seal’s 10,200 votes.

State Rep. John Ragan (R-33) of Oak Ridge lost the Republican ticket to Rick Scarbrough in a close race. District 33 includes Sullivan County. Ragan saw 2,705 votes compared to Scarbrough’s 2,963 votes in the district.

All results are considered unofficial until certified by the state’s election commissions.

The next election in Tennessee includes the state representative and senate seats, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives seats, and the Presidential election. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Early voting will run from Wednesday, Oct. 16 through Thursday, Oct. 31. 

The last day to register to be able to vote in the November election is Monday, Oct. 7. 

Those who will not be in their registered voting districts during the November election period, including college students and those serving the country, can apply for an absentee ballot from their local county election office. The deadline to request an absentee ballot for the November election is Tuesday, Oct. 29. Those who have yet to register and want an absentee ballot must register in person at their local election commission office.

Tennessee voters do not declare a political party affiliation when registering to vote.

Contact the Madison County Election Commission office at 731-660-1796 or visit 1981 Hollywood Dr., Suite 2, Jackson, for more information. Online information can be found at https://madisoncountytn.gov/150/Election-Commission

Sabrina Bates, sabrina@richardsonmediagroup.net