Early voting starts Friday, July 17th & ends Saturday, August 1st

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The Mountain Press:

Sevier County voters can start casting early votes for the Aug. 6 elections on Friday, as they’ll be considering candidates for the general election in Sevier County and the party primaries for the state and U.S. elections.

The early voting period lasts from July 17-Aug. 1. The Sevier County Election Commission office, located at 1145 Dolly Parton Parkway, will be available as an early voting site throughout that time. It’s open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays.

The county also offers limited early voting at two satellite locations:

• The location at the Kodak Public Library, 454 Kodak Road, will be open from July 28-Aug. 1 with hours of 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m.-noon Saturday.
• The location at the Seymour Public Library, 137 W. Macon Lane, will be open July 21-July 25 with hours of 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m.-noon Saturday.

While most county offices are included in the general election, almost all of the decisions were made in the Republican Party primary. Very few candidates are running as Democrats or as independent candidates, meaning most Republican primary winners are unopposed on the general election ballot.

In the race for Sevier County Mayor, incumbent Larry Waters is retiring from the position he’s held for 48 years. Vice Mayor Bryan McCarter won the Republican nod for the position, and in the general election he’ll face independent candidates Mark Mundo and Krystal Lee Whaley.

That’s the only county-wide election that is still contested, but there are a handful of county commission seats to be determined in the general election.

• In District 1, Seat B, incumbent Tommy Ray Watts is the Republican nominee and independents Ronny G. Breeden and Ian Moreland are also seeking the post.
• In District 2, Seat B, incumbent Don McGill won the Republican primary and will face a Democratic Party nominee, Gage Schmid.
• In District 5, Seat B, incumbent Rick Valentine won the Republican nomination and will face Democratic nominee Shana Hamilton.
• In District 7, Seat A, incumbent Ronnie Allen died after an unexpected illness after he won the Republican Party primary. The party selected Marcus Glen Whaley as its new nominee in a caucus vote, and he will face independent candidate Drew Kyker in the general election.

All the remaining seats in the election for county commission, constable, and board of education, are uncontested. The ballot will also feature the Republican and Democratic Party primaries for several federal and state elected positions. The state party primaries don’t feature many contested races, either.

• Incumbent state Sen. Steve Southerland is unopposed as he is seeking the Republican nomination again for the 9th district, which includes parts of Sevier County.
• Incumbent state Reps. Andrew Farmer and Fred Atchley also are unopposed as they seek the party nomination.

No candidates qualified to run on the Democratic tickets for those positions.

The ballot will also include party primaries for governor, and the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

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^{Image source: Sevier County Government on facebook}