I’m Matt Coniglio, the Tennessee League’s Director of Advocacy. While I typically discuss state legislation, recap past sessions, or fundraise for our State PAC to keep credit unions in lawmakers’ minds, today I’m writing about an important event in our political cycle: early voting for this year’s Tennessee State Primary, which begins tomorrow.
Starting tomorrow, Tennesseans will choose major party nominees for state and federal offices to compete in the November General Election. Every two years, ninety-nine state house seats and nine congressional seats are up for grabs. This year, we also have sixteen state senate seats and the statewide US Senate seat in contention.
In the most recent presidential election year (2020), turnout in Tennessee for the August primary was a disappointing 24.47 percent. While this was an improvement over the even lower 14.05 percent in 2016, Tennessee hasn’t recorded more than 25 percent voter turnout in August primaries of a presidential election year since 1996 (when it reached just 26.16 percent).
My point is this: our political system is participatory, yet far too many Tennesseans don’t take advantage of the power and responsibility that comes with voting. Regardless of your party preference, the primaries offer opportunities to shape who will represent your communities in Nashville and Washington, DC, this November. With historically low turnout, your voice and choice matter even more.
Make a plan to vote in the August primary. For more information, visit GoVoteTN.gov or the US Vote Foundation’s Tennessee Information Page: https://www.usvotefoundation.org/state-voter-information/tennessee.
