Day 1 of early voting kicks off in Madison County

JACKSON, Tenn. — Residents across the state flexed their civic muscles Wednesday morning.

Wednesday marked the first day of early voting for the Federal General Election. Poll workers in Madison County shared that the doors were lined with voters. Early voting will continue through Thursday, October 31 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

“We do have extended hours 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays. So, both Tuesdays we will have hours that extend to 6 p.m. — 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” said Lori Lott, administrator of elections for Madison County.

Since December 2023, as of June 2024 more than 56,000 voters have been registered to vote according to Tennessee government election statics. For these new voters who haven’t voted before here’s how you can make your mark.

“New voters, they can come in and bring their voter ID. We would love to have their voter card but if they don’t, they don’t have to have it, it just makes our line go faster. They will come in and show their ID, they’ll sign a form and they’ll go back and put their ballot into the machine. They’ll vote and then cast their vote into the tabulator,” said Lott.

During the last presidential election, Tennessee had a 59.81% voter turnout out of 83.46% voter registration according to the election performance index. Tennessee was ranked 37 out of the 51 including the District of Columbia.

Aside from the presidential election, there are other things on the ballot.

“There is the U.S. Senate, and there is the congress, and there’s state house. It’s real exciting,” said Lott.

For those who may not be able to vote early, be sure you know where to vote on Election Day.

“If you want to check to see where you are supposed to go on Election Day, and who your elected officials are, you can go to an app called GoVoteTN or you can go to the website ‘vote tn dot gov’,” said Lott.

For college students, or those that may have recently moved, here’s what you need to know about absentee voting.

“To request an absentee you had to vote first in person or register in person. So in other words if you came by our office and you’ve registered and you showed your ID that is in person so you can request an absentee,” said Lott.

Tuesday, November 5 is Election Day, and those who choose to vote must do so at their specific precinct.

For more news in the Jackson area, click here.