Early voting ends in Sullivan, Hawkins with higher turnouts than 2022

Editor's note: This article was updated the morning of May 1 to reflect the latest numbers from Hawkins County's election commission. Early voting came to an end Thursday, April 30, for the May 5 primaries in Hawkins and Sullivan counties and across Tennessee. Judging from the turnout — higher than early voting was in 2022, the last comparable election cycle — the May 2026 primaries may have a higher turnout than 2022 in both counties. Reasons could include contested mayoral, commission and school board races in both counties. The race for Hawkins' sheriff is also contested as current and longtime Sheriff Ronnie Lawson retires. In the two county mayoral races and Hawkins sheriff's race, the primary winner will not face opposition from a Democrat, independent or write-in candidates in the Aug. 6 general election. To read more about candidates, visit timesnews.net and navigate to the "Election 2026" tab under "News." Sullivan County Sullivan County had early voting at the Sullivan County Election Commission April 15-30, including two Saturdays. Sullivan had early voting in two other locations April 23-30: the Civic Auditorium in Kingsport and Slater Center in Bristol. All closed Thursday at 4 p.m. Sullivan County Administrator of Elections Jason Booher released in-person early voting after early voting closed. The total in-person voting for 2026 was 7,252 in the Republican primary, and 298 in the Democratic primary, compared to 4,676 in the 2022 GOP primary and 12 in the Democratic primary. That made the total early in-person vote count in both parties was 7,550 for 2026 and 4,797 for 2022. Sullivan has 103,476 active registered voters; about 7% voted early. Previously, Booher has predicted a total turnout of 10,000 to 12,000. That would mirror a total May turnout of more than 12,000 in 2022. On election day, registered voters in Sullivan may cast ballots in one of 25 assigned precincts or polling places, with the polls being open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Hawkins County In Hawkins County, residents voted early at the Hawkins County Courthouse in Rogersville and the Clay Masonic Lodge in Church Hill. Both locations were open April 15-30. Administrator of Elections Crystal Rogers released a daily report of the unofficial turnout for early and absentee voting throughout this period. Cumulatively, 4,873 people voted at the early polling sites in Hawkins County. Of those total votes, about 55% were cast at the Rogersville site, with the rest at the Church Hill location. The vast majority of voters were Republican, as all of the candidates for local offices are either GOP or independents. However, 109 Democrats did early vote, with twice as many voting at the Church Hill site than the courthouse in Rogersville. Separate from those numbers, there have been 99 absentee ballots cast by mail, 34 votes from nursing homes and no votes from military members. So, overall, 4,891 votes have already been cast in the May 5 primary election. That's over 1,800 more votes than 2022's early voting period, which was the most recent non-presidential primary. There are 38,947 registered voters in Hawkins County; about 12.5% voted early. On Election Day — this Tuesday — there will be polling sites across Hawkins' seven districts.