We’ve heard plenty about November — but what’s on the Aug. 1 ballot?
With early voting open, it's high time to learn about the Hamilton County general election and the state and federal primaries. So we put together a guide to make it easy to start.
By William Newlin
Voting is already underway
Hamilton County is in the middle of an election. It might not seem like it given the almost single-minded national attention on the presidential race, but a whole slate of local offices are on the ballot — available to all registered voters — right now. And the winners in local elections make so many neighborhood-level decisions that affect daily life, from housing availability to road safety to school achievement.
Early voting began on July 12 to choose six Hamilton County School Board members, a circuit court judge, and several other officials in the county general election. The ballot also includes the primary election for important state and federal offices, including the United States Senate, whose winners will go on to compete in the general election in November.
Six locations will be open for early voting Monday-Saturday through July 27. The actual Election Day is Aug. 1. You can find out where to vote, get a sample ballot, and request an absentee ballot through the Hamilton County Election Commission.
Local elections: ‘Very important to our quality of life’
Marcia Noe, vice president of the League of Women Voters Chattanooga chapter, said she didn’t think the current election was top of mind for fellow residents. When Noe and her husband cast a lunchtime ballot at the election commission last week, she said they were the only two voters in the building.
“It's kind of a perfect storm of elements that discourage voting,” Noe said. “You know, the lack of excitement, the two elections at the same time, the not knowing who (the candidates) are, the lack of, the, you know, not very glamorous elective offices.”
Glamorous or not, county commissioners, school board members, the county assessor of property, state representatives, and Tennessee’s senators have a profound impact on their constituents’ lives.
Appealing to young people — the group least likely to vote in Tennessee — Noe pointed to the school board and commission’s role in determining school budgets for sports teams, the arts, and science education. Good schools attract businesses and boost property values, Noe said, making the decisions of local officials “very, very important to our quality of life in Chattanooga.”
Smaller races tend to have tighter margins, too. In two school board races in 2022, the decision came down to fewer than 300 votes.
On Monday afternoon, a steady stream of early voters found their way to the yard sign-laden Hamilton County Election Commission. The crowd skewed older, and the three people Chattamatters interviewed were regulars at the polls.
"Local races are probably the most important races, because they're directly affecting your life and your family's way of life," voter Brian Russell told us.
Janice Gooden, a voter at the election commission Monday who was casting a Democratic primary ballot, agreed, saying she was motivated by the number of issues that get decided at the local level.
Voting: 'The only voice you have'
At the state level, representatives pass laws regulating access to guns, abortion, and labor unions. A large part of Hamilton County Schools’ budget also comes from the state, alongside small business resources and funds for health care.
Advising fellow voters, Russell said they should pray about the election and choose the candidates who most align with "biblical truth and your own convictions." He was keen to cast his votes for the sitting Republicans representing him in the U.S. House and Senate, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
In the Senate primary, voters choose which of their party's candidates they want to vie for a six-year congressional term in the November general election. U.S. senators must approve any new presidential nominations, such as Supreme Court justices and Cabinet members. Like U.S. House members, they certify that presidential elections are valid, and they often have to work across party lines to get anything done in Washington D.C.
“I would tell people, it's very important to promote democracy and sustain democracy, to have good people in the U.S. Senate who will get things done and not, you know, vote to filibuster, and will actually pass some laws,” Noe said.
Unlike any of the other offices in this election, U.S. senators represent the entire state. Everyone in Tennessee will have the same Senate candidates on their ballot, meaning everyone has the same opportunity to affect the outcome.
Whether it’s having a say in national politics or casting a powerful vote to shape local schools — that’s what elections are for.
"If you care about your city, your county, your country, you go vote," said one of Monday's early voters, Evelyn Patterson. "It's the only voice you have — unless you go march on Washington."