KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A total of 21,807 Knox Countians cast ballots in the local primary elections during the early voting period.
As of April 29, there were 20,451 votes cast from early voting, and 1,356 were absentee ballots.
Wednesday was the first day to cast a ballot at one of the 10 locations spread across the county. Early voting continued through Thursday, April 28.
The Republican and Democratic primary elections take place on Tuesday, May 3. Once the field of candidates is narrowed down, the county general election will take place Thursday, Aug. 4 alongside the federal and state primary elections.
The opening day gave a glimpse of what may come this spring as Democrats and Republicans go to the polls.
Knox County races this spring are heavily Republican, with only a couple of competitive Democratic primaries.
According to the Knox County Election Commission, a total of 17,358 people took part in the Republican primary; 4,449 took part in the Democratic primary.
No matter which way you lean politically, voters are eligible to take part in the other party's primary.
So if you really wanted to take part in the Knox County sheriff's race, where only two Republicans were running, then you're free to do it.
Or if you felt compelled to take part in the limited number of competitive Democratic primaries, like the ones for Knox County Board of Education District 1 or the Knox County mayor's race, then you were free to do that.
You must pick one or the other party ballot, however. It's not unusual in a primary to see Democrats in Knox County cross over to vote in the GOP races.
This is the first time county school board races have been partisan in years.
Of the 10 early voting locations, Downtown West in West Knoxville was the busiest as usual with 4,429 votes cast during the early voting period. Next up was Farragut with 3,484 votes followed by Halls with 2,644 and New Harvest at 2,576.
Early voters needed to have their identification ready when going to cast an early vote.
KAT buses also provided routes to early voting locations.