HUNTSVILLE | Early voting in Scott County is running slightly ahead of where it stood at the same point four years ago, according to figures released by the Scott County Election Commission.
After the first two days of early voting for the Aug. 6 state primary and county general election, 441 ballots have been cast. At the same point in the 2022 election cycle, 421 ballots had been cast.
That represents an increase of 20 votes, or about 4.8%, compared to the first two days of early voting in 2022.
Despite the increase in ballots cast, voter participation as a percentage of registered voters is virtually unchanged because Scott County has added voters to its registration rolls over the past four years.
The county now has approximately 13,710 registered voters (13,706 as of May), compared to 13,287 at the same point in 2022. As a result, both elections have seen about 3.2% of registered voters cast ballots through the first two days of early voting.
Party participation has shifted slightly toward Republican voters.
Among party primary ballots cast so far this year, 92.3% have been Republican ballots, while 7.7% have been Democratic ballots. In 2022, 90.3% of party primary ballots were Republican and 9.7% were Democratic. That could be slightly noteworthy because, unlike 2022, there is a Scott Countian on the Democratic ballot. Seth McMillan, a Robbins native, is seeking the state representative seat in the 38th District. While the early breakdown suggests more Scott Countians are not requesting a Democratic ballot to vote for the local candidate, it should also be pointed out that McMillan is running unopposed, and the focus in the state primary is overwhelmingly on the Republican gubernatorial race, where current U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn is trying to hold off a challenge from U.S. Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritz. The real race in the 38th District will come in November, when McMillan faces off against Republican Kelly Keisling, the incumbent who is also unopposed in the primary.
Early voting began Friday and will continue through Saturday, Aug. 1. The Election Day voting will be held Thursday, Aug. 6.
Historically, the majority of voters cast their ballots during the two-week early voting period. In 2022, total voter turnout was just over 52%. Of those who cast ballots, fewer than four in 10 did so on Election Day; better than 60% of the ballots were cast during the early voting period. Because of the disparity, races tend to be won or lost during the early voting window. Only the tightest of races see Election Day totals swing the outcome.
See Also: A complete list of candidates and the office they are seeking
