June 21, 2020
By: Dwayne Page
Voters will again find it convenient to vote early for the upcoming August 6 election.
The DeKalb County Election Commission voted recently to set the early voting hours the same as in previous elections.
The early voting hours for the August election will be as follows:
Mondays from 1 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.; Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.; Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.; Thursdays from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.; Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.; and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until NOON.
“Usually, the afternoon numbers are among the largest of the early voting period,” said Dennis Stanley, Administrator of Elections. “And based on that history, the commission wants to provide two afternoon voting periods to make it easier for those who like voting early or cannot make it to the polls on election day.”
Early voting for the August 6 election begins July 17 and will run through August 1.
(Click link below to view ballot)
Local voters will make their choice in one contested county-wide election, one contested school board race, a contested Smithville Municipal Election and in the state Republican or Democratic primaries. (a copy of the ballot can be found here) There are uncontested races for Constable, another school board seat, the mayor and two aldermen in Dowelltown and for aldermen seats in Alexandria. In addition, there is an uncontested race for Criminal Court Judge Part II District 13 and a state judicial retention question.
The county general ballot is headlined by the race for Assessor of Property with incumbent Republican Shannon A. Cantrell facing Democratic challenger Tom R. Duggin.
All seven constable candidates will be unopposed in their respective districts including Waylon Kyle in the 1st District, Darrell Johnson 2nd District, Travis Bryant 3rd District, Paul Cantrell 4th District, Mark Milam 5th District, Jason Brown 6th District, and Johnny King in the 7th District.
Two candidates, Jason Lee Miller and Shawn Washer, are seeking the 6th District School Board seat. Jamie Cripps is unopposed for the School Board in the 5th district.
Meanwhile, Republican Criminal Court Judge Wesley Bray will be unopposed in the 13th Judicial District special election on August 6th to serve out the last two years of former Judge David Patterson’s unexpired term. Patterson stepped down from the bench last year and Bray was appointed by the Governor to succeed him until the August 6th, 2020 election.
In Smithville, five candidates are vying for three seats on the city board. The aldermen candidates are: H. Don Crook (Incumbent), Jessica L. Higgins, Shawn Jacobs (Incumbent), Tim Perricone, and Danny Washer (incumbent).
Meanwhile a mayor and two aldermen will be elected in the Dowelltown City Election on August 6th
Incumbent Dowelltown Mayor Pam Redmon will be unopposed for re-election while Phillip Byford and Chris Walker will be running for Dowelltown Alderman.
Although five aldermen seats were to have been filled on August 6th in the Alexandria City Election only one person qualified to get her name on the ballot. Lynne Dickerson is seeking a four year term as Alderman.
There are 15 candidates for U.S. Senate in the Republican primary and five candidates in the Democratic Primary.
Sixth District Congressman John Rose is unopposed in the Republican Primary and on the Democratic side, Christopher Martin Finley is unopposed. Those two will square off in November.
Incumbent state representatives Terri Lynn Weaver and Clark Boyd are unopposed in August. Weaver will face opposition from Independent candidate Paddy Sizemore of Smith County in the November Tennessee General Election. Boyd will be unopposed.
Suanne Bone of Lebanon qualified for the Tennessee Democratic Primary on August 6th to fill a vacancy as State Executive Committeewoman in District 17.
A copy of the August 6 ballot can also be found at www.dekalbelections.com.