Voting precincts in Anderson County open at 9 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Tuesday
Anderson County's 28 election precincts open at 9 a.m. today, March 5, for voters to make their choices for a presidential candidate and their top candidates in several local races.
The polls will close at 8 p.m.
In Anderson County, the top vote-getter among four Republican candidates vying for chancellor, which is the chancery court judge, will be the winner. The candidates are James "Jamie" Brooks Jr., Daniel Forrester, Evan Hauser and Roger Miller. Brooks currently holds the judgeship, having been appointed by Gov. Bill Lee following the resignation of Nichole "Nikki" Cantrell.
Incumbent John Alley Jr., also on the Republican primary ballot, is the lone candidate for property assessor so he will also be elected to the position on March 5 because there is no Democratic candidate.
Other area races on the ballots, if you live in specific districts, include:
Anderson County Commission, District 6, which is the Oak Ridge City Hall (Senior Center), Robertsville and West Hills precincts - Republican primary, Aaron Wells; Democratic primary, Ebony Capshaw. Wells currently holds the position vacated by Catherine Denenberg.
Anderson County Board of Education, Districts 3, 4, 5, and 8 - District 3, which is the Andersonville, Fairview, Glen Alpine and Norris precincts, Republican primary, Dail Cantrell; Democratic primary, no candidate. District 4, which is the Briceville, Clinton Middle, Lake City Middle, and Rocky Top (community center) precincts, Republican party, Darren Carden; Democratic primary, no candidate. District 5, which is the Clinton High School, Dutch Valley, Marlow and Norwood precincts, Republican primary, Sherri Jarnigan-Beaty; Democratic primary, Theresa Evans Venable. District 8, which is Oak Ridge's Emory Valley, Hendrix Creek and Woodland precincts, Republican primary, Glenda Langenberg; Democratic primary, David Miller.
These races will also be on the ballot in the Anderson County general election in August, according to Mark Stephens, county Election Commission administrator. The candidates for the one commission race and four school board seats will face off against each other, along with any independent candidates.
Paper trails and voting machines
Residents will see new voting machines in Anderson County, thanks to a law going into effect that calls for a verifyable paper trail. Stephens said when you arrive to vote at your precinct, you'll go through the normal process of checking in with the election workers to vote. You'll then be given a ballot paper and a code and sent to the Hart Duo System voting machine. You'll insert the ballot paper and use your code. You'll then use the machine's touchscreen to vote. When you're finished, your votes will be printed on the ballot paper and you'll go to a scanner and feed the ballot paper into the scanner, and your vote will be tabulated, he said.
The voting isn't expected to take any longer than on the previous machines, he said.
Votes cast Tuesday will be reported online at the election commission's new website location at acelection.com that night.
The Oak Ridger will also be reporting on the winners. Go online to oakridger.com Tuesday night or find it in a print edition later this week.
More information on all voting matters can be found on the election commission website, as well. The phone number for people with questions on voting to call is 865-457-6238.
The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Email her at dsmith@oakridger.com and follow her on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @ridgernewsed.
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This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Voting precincts in Anderson County open at 9 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
