KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — So far in Knoxville, turnout has been low for eligible young voters in the 2023 election. The Knox County Election Commission said only around 559 people between 18 years old and 34 years old cast a ballot during Knoxville's early voting period — around 1% of all eligible young voters in the city.
The commission said around 38,190 people are eligible to vote in that age demographic. The low turnout was also seen in the city as a whole. There were 6,474 early votes cast with another 793 absentee votes as of Nov. 3, out of around 102,000 registered voters in Knoxville.
The age range with the most early voters was people older than 55 years old, with 5,355 early votes cast. People between 35 years old and 54 years old cast 1,353 early votes.
In total, the commission expects between 14,000 and 15,000 total votes cast in the 2023 city election. It will decide who sits on several City Council seats and who will serve as a municipal judge.
Three at-large City Council seats are on the ballot, as well as the 5th District Council seat. During the city primary election in August, 16,648 votes were cast. The primary included the mayor's race, which incumbent Indya Kincannon won outright.
District 2, covering most of West Knoxville, cast the most votes during early voting at 2,197 ballots. It was followed by District 4, covering mostly Northeast Knoxville, at 1,650 votes.
District 5, covering mostly North Knoxville, cast the least amount of votes at 754. That city council seat is currently up in the election. However, the incumbent is also running unopposed.
Early votes in previous elections have ebbed and flowed over the years, with the highest tallies falling on elections where mayors were on the ballot. Since Kincannon won the primary election outright, she will not be on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Early voting trends for previous city elections are listed below.
- November 2019: 10,878 early votes cast (total votes: 25,614 with Mayor on the ballot)
- November 2015: 1,606 early votes cast (total votes: 5,440)
- November 2011: 11,165 early votes cast (total votes: 27,043 with Mayor and State Senate on the ballot)
- November 2007: 1,593 early votes cast (total votes: 5,677)
- November 2003: 4,374 early votes cast (total votes: 13,175)
Election Day in Knoxville is on Nov. 7, and the polls will be open from 8 a.m. through 8 p.m. Voters can find their polling location online, through a tool meant to help voters learn where their polling location is.
A full list of polling places is also available online.