CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Polls are open for the Tennessee State Primary and Montgomery County General Election.
Voters were moving in and out quickly at St. Bethlehem Elementary School at 7 a.m. There were only two voters in line, spaced a socially distanced 6 feet apart, and about two dozen people voted in the first hour.
Voter Jill Vernon said voting this year is “crucial.”
“It is our duty as Christians and people of the United States to do what we have to do, and this is very, very important.
Vernon was wearing her mask and said she didn’t mind doing so.
“It is very respectful and it’s doing the right thing,” she said. “But I think the schools need to start up again, and I think the community needs to start opening up. The restaurants, everything just needs to be opening up. No more being fear-based; we need to start believing and having faith in God, in this country and in this state.”
Thousands of votes have already been cast: 12,336 people voted early in Montgomery County. Of those, 4,280 voted in the Democratic Primary, which has no contested races, and 7,827 in the Republican Primary, which has two contested races, for US Senate and state Senate.
What’s on the ballot
To vote, go to the election precinct address listed on your Voter ID card. Don’t go to the Election Commission Office, which only hosts early voting.
At your precinct, you’ll be asked whether you want a Democrat or Republican ballot. This is a primary, so many of your choices are on one ballot or the other.
Here are the contested races on the ballot:
U.S. Senate, Tennessee, Republican primary: Bill Hagerty or Manny Sethi.
State Senate, District 22, Republican primary: Doug Englen or incumbent Sen. Bill Powers.
Highway Supervisor: Jeff Bryant Jr. (R), Stayton Black Jr. (I) or Bryan Knight (I).
School Board, District 4: Kent Griffy or incumbent Anne Murtha.
Uncontested races
Also on the ballot are the following uncontested races:
State Senate, District 22, Democratic primary: Ronnie Glynn
State House, District 67, Republican primary: John Dawson
State House, District 67, Democratic primary: incumbent Rep. Jason Hodges
State House, District 68, Republican primary: incumbent Rep. Curtis Johnson
State House, District 74, Republican primary: incumbent Rep. Jay Reedy
Circuit Court Judge, Part V, Republican primary: incumbent Judge Katy Olita
Assessor of Property: incumbent Erinne Hester
School Board, District 2: incumbent Margaret Pace
School Board, District 3: incumbent Herbert Nelson
School Board District 6: incumbent Charlie Patterson
For live election results tonight, starting when polls at 7 p.m., come back to ClarksvilleNow.com.
Lee Erwin contributed to this report.
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