KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

As Election Day looms, over 17,000 Coffee County residents, or about 46.5% of registered voters, cast their ballots for the next President of the United States.

According to Administrator of Elections Andy Farrar, 17,738 residents went to the polls to early vote. Prior to the final day of early voting, Farrar said the turnout for early voting has been large, noting the county was ahead of where it was in the November 2020 Election in turnout.

Per the data shared by Farrar, the first and third days of early voting saw the highest turnout of voters, with 1,787 and 1,553 voters respectively. The average of voter turnout during the early voting session was approximately 1,267 voters. As for who saw the most ballots cast, Rural Coffee County ended the period with the most ballots cast at 8,694, followed by Tullahoma with 5,686 and Manchester bringing up the rear with 3,358.

Now with the early voting period concluding Oct. 31, any Coffee County residents who have yet to vote will get their chance to cast their ballot for the November State and General Election on Election Day, which falls on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Officials will hold said election at the following places:

• Precinct 1.1: First Baptist Church, 1006 Hillsboro Blvd in Manchester
• Precinct 2.1: Trinity Baptist Church, 1513 McArthur St in Manchester
• Precinct 3.1: Coffee County Rescue Squad, 2270 Murfreesboro Hwy in Manchester
• Precinct 3.2: Lakewood Baptist Church, 619 Ferrells Loop Road in Beechgrove
• Precinct 4.1: New Union Church of Christ, 46 Maple Springs Road in Manchester
• Precinct 4.2: Forest Mill Church of Christ, 3366 McMinnville Hwy in Manchester
• Precinct 5.1: Hickerson Station Fire Hall, 4373 Old Manchester Hwy in Tullahoma
• Precinct 5.2: Blanton Chapel Community Center, 4420 Powers Bridge Road in Manchester
• Precinct 6.1: Manchester Conference Center, 147 Hospitality Blvd in Manchester
• Precinct 6.2: Hillsboro Community Center, 59 Old School House Dr. in Hillsboro
• Precinct 7.1: CD Stamps Community Center, 810 S. Jackson St. in Tullahoma
• Precinct 7.2: Wesley Heights Methodist Church, 2101 E. Lincoln St. in Tullahoma
• Precinct 8.1: Lion’s Club, 407 Lion’s Club Lane in Tullahoma
• Precinct 8.2: Grace Baptist Church, 1901 Ovoca Road in Tullahoma
• Precinct 9.1: D.W. Wilson Community Center, 501 N. Collins St. in Tullahoma
• Precinct 9.2: Cedar Lane Church of Christ, 1200 Cedar Lane in Tullahoma
• Precinct 9.4: Cedar Lane Church of Christ, 1200 Cedar Lane in Tullahoma

The hours for all 17 precincts will be 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. Voters who have an address change will be asked to fill out a failsafe form to allow them to vote in the correct precinct. Farrar also reminded Tullahoma residents who live in Franklin County have to go vote at their Franklin County polling location, and not at C.D. Stamps Community Center in Tullahoma.

Voters unsure of where they need to cast their ballots should contact the Election Commission office at (931) 723-5103. 

What’s on the ballot?

The ballot will consist primarily of federal and state elections. For the seat of the President of the United States, the top two party candidates to choose from will be Republican candidate and former president Donald J. Trump with his running mate J.D. Vance and Democratic candidate and sitting Vice President Kamala Harris with her running mate Tim Walz. The other candidates that will be on the ballot for U.S. President and Vice President include Jay J. Bowman and De D. Bowman, Claudia De la Cruz and Karina Garcia, Rachele Fruit and Dennis Richter, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan and Jill Stein and Samson LeBeau Kpadenou.

For the seat of U.S. Senate, Republican candidate and incumbent Marsha Blackburn will face off against Democratic candidate and sitting State Rep. Gloria Johnson, as well as independent candidates Tharon Chandler, Pamela Jeanine “P.” Moses and Hastina Robinson. As for U.S. House of Representatives for District 4, Republican candidate and incumbent Scott DesJarlais faces Democratic candidate Victoria Isabel Broderick, and independent candidates Earnest Ensley and Keith Nolan.

For the state elections, the seats for State Senate, District 16, and House of Representatives, District 47, will be up for grabs. For the State Senate, Republican candidate and incumbent Janice Bowling faces off with Democratic candidate Wayne Steel and independent candidate Scott Bean. For State of House of Representatives, Republican candidate and incumbent Rush Bricken will meet Democratic candidate Veronica Owens on the ballot.

As for the local level, seats for the Coffee County Commission, Coffee County School Board and Constable will be on the ballot. For the Coffee County Commission seat for District 2, Republican candidate Benton D. Brown will face off against Democratic candidate Zak Mohyuddin. For the Coffee County Commission seat for District 6, Republican candidate Sammy Anderson III faces off against Democratic candidate Jerry L. Brown.

For the Coffee County School Board Seat 2-Districts 2, 6, 7, Republican candidate Chris M. Koon will meet independent candidate Janet McCullough Thornton. There is no qualified candidate listed for Constable Seat 1-Districts 1, 3, 4.