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Tomorrow begins early voting for the State and Federal Primary + State and County General Election, and we’ve done the Googling so you don’t have to. To make this election as easy as possible, we’ve curated need-to-know information about how and where to vote, along with info on what we’re voting on.
First things first, make sure you’re eligible + registered to vote.
🗳️ Important dates
Early voting | Fri., July 15-Sat., July 30
Absentee Ballot request deadline | Thurs., July 28 | Request here
Election Day | Thurs., Aug. 4
🗳️ Find your polling location
There are currently six early voting sites in Hamilton County. You can vote at any of these locations during the early voting period, through Sat., July 30:
- Election Commission | Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. + Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. | 700 River Terminal Rd.
- Hixson Community Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 5401 School Dr.
- Brainerd Rec Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. | 1010 N. Moore Rd.
- Hwy 58 Volunteer Fire Training Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 9108 Snow Hill Rd.
- Collegedale City Hall | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 4910 Swinyar Dr.
- Soddy Daisy Community Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 190 Depot St.
If you’re waiting until Election Day to vote, find your polling place with this voter information tool. Once you enter the information, your polling place will be located a few rows down. The polling place address given is where you must be in order to vote on Thurs., Aug. 4 (by law, in fact).
No matter when you vote, you’ll be required to show a valid photo ID.
🗳️ What are we voting on?
In Hamilton County, primary elections will take place for:
- Governor
- US House of Representatives
- Tennessee House of Representatives
- State Executive Committee (these are volunteer positions held by men and women in the Democratic and Republican State Executive Committee.)
General elections will take place for:
- State judicial offices
- County Mayor
- County Sheriff
- County Commissioners
- County Trustee
- Court Clerks
- County Clerk
- County School Board
- Applicable municipal offices for Chattanooga, Collegedale, East Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain, Red Bank, and Soddy Daisy
- Judicial retention questions
Want to know exactly who your choices are for the election? Head here + fill out the requested information for a sample ballot based on your address, with all of the potential candidates on the ballot of your choice — Republican or Democratic.
🗳️ The candidates
Here are the candidates that will be running opposed on the ballot in Hamilton County. Those running unopposed in the elections are not listed. Find all current positions in the election here.
Pro Tip: find a sample ballot catered to your specific address + political leaning — like we mentioned above — check out the candidates listed on that sample ballot, and then use this list to learn more about them.
Governor
- Carnita Atwater, Democrat
- Jason Brantley Martin, Democrat
- JB Smiley Jr., Democrat
US House of Representatives
- Sandy Casey, Republican
- Chuck Fleischmann (incumbent), Republican
State Executive Committeewoman, District 10, Republican
State Executive Committeeman, District 11, Democrat
District Attorney
- Coty Wamp, Republican
- John Allen Brooks, Democrat
County Mayor
- Weston Wamp, Republican
- Matt Adams, Democrat
County Commission, District 6
- Ruth Jeno, Republican
- David Sharpe, Democrat
County Commision, District 9
- Steve Highlander (Incumbent), Republican
- Steve A. Caudle, Democrat
County Commission, District 11
- Joseph “Joe” Graham, Republican
- Montrell Besley, Democrat
General Sessions Court Judge, Division 3
County Clerk
- W.F. (Bill) Knowles (incumbent), Republican
- R. Chester Heathington Jr., Independent
- Nivek Rucker, Independent
County School Board, District 3
- Joe Smith, Republican
- Jenn Piroth, Democrat
County School Board, District 5
- Charles Paty, Republican
- Karitsa Mosley Jones, Democrat
County School Board, District 6
- Jon Baker, Republican
- Ben Connor, Democrat
County School Board, District 8
- Larry Grohn, Republican
- Katie Perkins, Democrat
County School Board, District 10
- Faye Robinson, Republican
- Jeff P. Crim, Democrat
- Christine A. Essex, Independent
County School Board, District 11
- Virginia Anne Manson, Republican
- Jill Black, Democrat
- Steve McKinney, Independent
City Council, District 8
City of East Ridge Judge
** We tried our best to include links to the candidate’s election website or election Facebook/Instagram account. If those were unavailable, we tried to find a link including the most information. If you know of a better link that represents any of the above candidates, please let us know.