Early Voting Starts, Over 500 Take Advantage So Far

Early voting began on Friday for the August 4th general election for the county and the primary for state and federal offices. So far, turnout has been pretty heavy for early voting. Josh Blanchgard, the administer of elections in Cocke County says that Friday there were 420 voters who turned up to cast their ballot early, with another 121 on Saturday…a total of 541 voters in the first two days. Early voting will open in the Western Plaza shopping center at 9 this morning. Hours to vote early are Monday-Thursday 9-5, Friday from 9-6 and Saturday from 9-noon. Be aware that it will take you a little longer to vote, since the ballot is 13 pages long. Additional voting machines have been put in place to help speed things up. Early voting ends on July 30th.