Knox County, TN (WOKI) – As Knox County’s early voting period reaches its halfway point, nearly 24,400 ballots have already been cast in advance of the August 6 election.
The Knox County Election Commission reported that as of 7 p.m. Friday, July 24, voters had cast 22,971 early ballots, with an additional 1,413 absentee and nursing home votes, bringing the total votes cast so far to 24,384.
The county currently has 268,073 active registered voters.
One of the more notable statistics from the first week of voting is the participation of the county’s oldest voters. Election officials said the oldest voter so far is 102 years old, casting an absentee ballot by mail. The oldest voter to cast a ballot in person during early voting is 98 years old.
Nearly 500 First-Time Voters Participate
Election officials reported 499 first-time voters have participated so far, including:
- 205 Republican primary voters
- 280 Democratic primary voters
- 14 General Election voters
Older Voters Leading Turnout
Voters age 55 and older are accounting for the largest share of ballots cast.
By age group:
- 18-34: 1,994 ballots
- 35-54: 4,622 ballots
- 55 and older: 17,768 ballots
The numbers show older voters making up the clear majority of participation through the first half of the early voting period.
Geographic Breakdown
Within the City of Knoxville, voters cast:
- 3,252 Republican ballots
- 4,137 Democratic ballots
- 119 General-only ballots
Across Knox County outside the city:
- 9,895 Republican ballots
- 4,619 Democratic ballots
- 176 General-only ballots
In the Town of Farragut:
- 1,635 Republican ballots
- 515 Democratic ballots
- 36 General-only ballots
Districts with Competitive Races Seeing Strong Turnout
The highest turnout among County Commission and School Board districts was reported in:
- District 4: 3,791 votes
- District 5: 3,762 votes
- District 6: 3,099 votes
- District 3: 2,853 votes
- District 7: 2,766 votes
District 7 features both a County Commission race and a School Board race on the ballot, while several other districts have contested School Board contests.
Busiest Precincts
The top voting precincts through the first seven days of early voting are:
- Farragut Middle School (Precinct 66NW) – 909 votes
- Korean Church of Knoxville (Precinct 66SE) – 820 votes
- Rocky Hill Elementary School (Precinct 71) – 699 votes
- Karns High School (Precinct 63) – 671 votes
- Cedar Bluff Middle School (Precinct 67) – 646 votes
- Amherst Elementary School (Precinct 70E) – 633 votes
- Brickey McCloud Elementary School (Precinct 59) – 616 votes
- Gibbs Elementary School (Precinct 81) – 616 votes
State House District Turnout
Among Tennessee House districts located in Knox County, District 14 has recorded the highest turnout so far with 5,204 ballots cast. District 18 follows with 4,361 votes, while District 89 has recorded 3,937 votes.
Early Voting Continues
Early voting will continue through Saturday, Aug. 1, at 11 locations throughout Knox County.
Election officials encourage voters to review polling locations, hours and sample ballots at KnoxVotes.org before heading to the polls.
The August 6 election includes several local races, including contested School Board and County Commission seats in multiple districts, helping drive turnout during the first week of early voting.
