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Article published Nov 4, 2008 Few problems reported despite heavy turnout
By Iva Butler and Joel Davis of The Daily Times Staff
Despite a heavy local turnout, election day in Blount County was fairly glitch free thus far.
“(It’s gone) really very smoothly,” Administrator of Elections Libby Breeding said Tuesday.
One voting machine at William Blount High School had be to replaced after it began to malfunction, but that has been the only equipment problem, Breeding said.
“It starting showing some symptoms so we took a new machine down there,” she said.
Gene Hamilton, election officer at the Maryville Municipal Building precinct location, said turnout at his location has already been more than twice normal.
“We’ve voted (at about 3 p.m.) more than 300 people,” he said. “We anticipate we’ll have 500 or more. Usually at this voting precinct, we have anywhere from 100-150.”
By 3:30 p.m., about 327 people had voted at the location.
Brigette Kemper was one of those voters. She said this election is very important to her.
“It is something that is going to affect by children and my family,” she said. “I’m a Christian, so it’s important for me to vote for McCain instead of Obama.”
At the Maryville College polling location, Election Officer Ted Fipps said turnout has been heavy.
“It’s been great,” he said. “It was really busy this morning. We had people lined up before we could open. Everything is going smoothly. We’ve had a lot of new faces.”
Some of those new faces belonged to Maryville College students. Tom Farmer, 20, and Eric Matthews, 21, voted earlier today. Their friend, 20-year-old Ryan Nivens, who is from a town near Nashville, voted via absentee ballot. All three agreed this is an important election.
“This is the first race of national importance that I’ve gotten to vote in,” Nivens said.
Matthews is studying to be a teacher. He is very interested in the candidates’ positions on education.
“Both candidates had very decisive positions —some I agreed with, some I didn’t,” he said. “I would be happy with either one (as president).”
Farmer said that the election has drawn a great deal of attention from the campus community.
“A surprising amount —(it’s been) more word of mouth than any big rallies or signs or anything like that,” he said. “We are all finally old enough to vote ... in the ‘04 election, we were just kind of sitting on the sidelines."Lines of voters waiting for polls to open
As voters headed to the polls to choose between Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his Republican opponent, John McCain, many polling precincts opened to lines at 8 a.m. today. Some voting places, including the one at Alcoa First Baptist Church Family Life Center, still had lines after 10:30 a.m.
When the voting began there were about 60 people in line at Alcoa First Baptist Church, all the way out the door, said Mary Ann Evans, who has been a election worker for 18 years.
One man said it took him 50 minutes to vote, said Pat Tippins, another election worker.
“We haven’t seen the end of the line since we started,” Evans said. “It’s great. You get to see everybody here. Some voters were here when we got here at 6:30 a.m.”
By 10:35 a.m. 277 people had voted at the Alcoa church.
Chilhowee View, a smaller county precinct, also had a long line with voters all the way out the door when the polls opened. By 10:15 a.m. Chilhowee View had 180 votes, whereas during some elections only 200 people voted all day, said election worker Connie Bradley. That was not during a presidential election year.
Breeding said this morning, “We told everybody that there would be lines after 4 p.m.” She expects those who do not work outside of the home to vote during the day to avoid the after work rush. Breeding said, “This year people are anxious about voting.”
As of Oct. 1, Blount County had 74,509 registered voters. Of that number, 27,267 voted early or absentee, she said.
People were in line at 7 a.m. at Chilhowee View, Everett, Walland and Townsend voting precincts, to name a few.
The phones in the Blount County Election Commission office were ringing off the hooks. Several people have not voted in a long time and do not know their voting precinct. Some others early voted in the past and thought they were suppose to vote at the commission office at the courthouse instead of their specific voting precinct, she added.
The correct precinct is printed on each voter’s registration card or they can find their precinct on line at www.blounttn.org/election/election.asp, Breeding said. She expects “only the people that have to” vote after 5 p.m. today.Sales tax referendum on ballot
Also on the ballot is a referendum to increase the local option sales tax by one-half cent with most of the revenue going toward education.
A citizens group, Blount Countians for Educational Excellence, has pushed for the referendum. Based on 2007 sales tax receipts, the group estimates the added tax would raise $7,772,028 annually with 2 percent increases each year. Blount County Schools’ share would be $2.9 million.
Under state law, cities and counties in Tennessee can levy up to a 2.75 percent local option sales tax. The local option in Blount stands at 2.25 percent.
In the U.S. Senate race, incumbent Sen. Lamar Alexander, a republican, faces Robert D. Tuke, a democrat, and six independent candidates. In the 2nd District House of Representatives race, incumbent John J. Duncan Jr. faces Democrat Bob Scott.
County Commissioner Robert Ramsey is unopposed for the 20th District House slot, unless he is challenged by a write-in candidate. State Rep. Doug Overbey. a republican, faces independent Ira Lapides of Gatlinburg in the 8th State Senatorial District race.
Incumbent 8th District state Rep. Joe McCord, a Republican, has no opposition.
In the city of Alcoa municipal election, Clayton G. Bledsoe, Ken White and George Williams are running for two Board of Commissioners slots. In the Alcoa Board of Education race, current members Charles Cameron and Steve Marsh and candidate Johnelle Jackson are unopposed.
In the Louisville election, Steve Dixon, Joe Gallagher and Michael Mund are competing for two Board of Aldermen slots.
In the Maryville city election, Mayor Joe Swann and Council Member Tom Taylor are unopposed. Doug Jenkins, Bethany Hodson Pope and Charles West are competing for two slots on the Maryville Board of Education.
Lastly, there is also a referendum on the ballot in Townsend to allow the legal sale of wine in the resort town.
A record-breaking 27,057 Blount Countians voted early. That’s about 36.6 percent of the 73,831 registered voters in the county.
Statewide, more than 1.5 million voters cast ballots in the two-week early voting period, a 38 percent increase over the previous record set in 2004.
About 423,000 more voters took advantage of early voting this year compared with the last presidential election. Already just under 40 percent of the state’s 3.96 million registered voters have cast ballots.
Election officials are predicting this election will set turnout records.