Data published by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office shows that total voter turnout during the 14-day period of early voting in Tennessee for the November 5 general election was lower than the turnout for early voting in the 2020 general election.
According to the data, 2,280,767 ballots—2,070,339 of which were early-in-person ballots and 210,428 absentee ballots—were recorded during the fourteen days of early voting in 2020.
Early voting totals for this year’s November 5 general election through the entire fourteen-day period of early voting, which ran from October 16 through October 31, show just 2,214,870 ballots were recorded—2,132,610 early-in-person ballots and 82,253 absentee ballots.
The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office estimates that approximately 45.88 percent of the state’s voters cast a ballot during the early voting period.
The difference between 2020 and 2024’s overall early voting turnout is approximately a 2.89 percent decrease.
Out of Tennessee’s 95 counties, Williamson County led the way in early voting turnout, with 61.35 percent of the county’s voters participating in early voting for the November 5 general election.
Bledsoe County had the lowest voter turnout during the early voting period, as only 29.67 percent of its population took advantage of early voting for the general election.
Individuals who requested absentee mail-in ballots for the general election must be received by voters’ respective election commissions no later than the close of polls on Election Day.
For more information about absentee voting or voting on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5, visit the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website at https://sos.tn.gov/elections or download the GoVoteTN mobile application.
All polls are open on Election Day in Tennessee until 8:00 p.m. EST / 7:00 p.m. CST. The opening times for polls vary by county, and they can be found at this link: https://sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/20241105%20Poll%20Opening%20by%20County.pdf.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
