At NOOGAtoday, we aim to cover local elections in a way that educates and activates our community with unbiased information to encourage individual voter participation. (I.e. vote for whoever + whatever you want to, just make sure to vote.) To learn more, check out our Editorial Ethics Policy.

Tomorrow begins early voting for the State and Federal Primary + State and County General Election, and we’ve done the Googling so you don’t have to. To make this election as easy as possible, we’ve curated need-to-know information about how and where to vote, along with info on what we’re voting on.

First things first, make sure you’re eligible + registered to vote.

🗳️ Important dates

Early voting | Fri., July 15-Sat., July 30

Absentee Ballot request deadline | Thurs., July 28 | Request here

Election Day | Thurs., Aug. 4

🗳️ Find your polling location

There are currently six early voting sites in Hamilton County. You can vote at any of these locations during the early voting period, through Sat., July 30:

Election Commission | Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. + Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. | 700 River Terminal Rd.
Hixson Community Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 5401 School Dr.
Brainerd Rec Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. | 1010 N. Moore Rd.
Hwy 58 Volunteer Fire Training Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 9108 Snow Hill Rd.
Collegedale City Hall | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 4910 Swinyar Dr.
Soddy Daisy Community Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 190 Depot St.

If you’re waiting until Election Day to vote, find your polling place with this voter information tool. Once you enter the information, your polling place will be located a few rows down. The polling place address given is where you must be in order to vote on Thurs., Aug. 4 (by law, in fact).

No matter when you vote, you’ll be required to show a valid photo ID.

🗳️ What are we voting on?

In Hamilton County, primary elections will take place for:

Governor
US House of Representatives
Tennessee House of Representatives
State Executive Committee (these are volunteer positions held by men and women in the Democratic and Republican State Executive Committee.)

General elections will take place for:

State judicial offices
County Mayor
County Sheriff
County Commissioners
County Trustee
Court Clerks
County Clerk
County School Board
Applicable municipal offices for Chattanooga, Collegedale, East Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain, Red Bank, and Soddy Daisy
Judicial retention questions

Want to know exactly who your choices are for the election? Head here + fill out the requested information for a sample ballot based on your address, with all of the potential candidates on the ballot of your choice — Republican or Democratic.

🗳️ The candidates

Here are the candidates that will be running opposed on the ballot in Hamilton County. Those running unopposed in the elections are not listed. Find all current positions in the election here.

Pro Tip: find a sample ballot catered to your specific address + political leaning — like we mentioned above — check out the candidates listed on that sample ballot, and then use this list to learn more about them.

Governor

US House of Representatives

Sandy Casey, Republican
Chuck Fleischmann (incumbent), Republican

State Executive Committeewoman, District 10, Republican

State Executive Committeeman, District 11, Democrat

District Attorney

Coty Wamp, Republican
John Allen Brooks, Democrat

County Mayor

Weston Wamp, Republican
Matt Adams, Democrat

County Commission, District 6

Ruth Jeno, Republican
David Sharpe, Democrat

County Commision, District 9

Steve Highlander (Incumbent), Republican
Steve A. Caudle, Democrat

County Commission, District 11

Joseph “Joe” Graham, Republican
Montrell Besley, Democrat

General Sessions Court Judge, Division 3

County Clerk

W.F. (Bill) Knowles (incumbent), Republican
R. Chester Heathington Jr., Independent
Nivek Rucker, Independent

County School Board, District 3

Joe Smith, Republican
Jenn Piroth, Democrat

County School Board, District 5

Charles Paty, Republican
Karitsa Mosley Jones, Democrat

County School Board, District 6

Jon Baker, Republican
Ben Connor, Democrat

County School Board, District 8

Larry Grohn, Republican
Katie Perkins, Democrat

County School Board, District 10

Faye Robinson, Republican
Jeff P. Crim, Democrat
Christine A. Essex, Independent

County School Board, District 11

Virginia Anne Manson, Republican
Jill Black, Democrat
Steve McKinney, Independent

City Council, District 8

City of East Ridge Judge

** We tried our best to include links to the candidate’s election website or election Facebook/Instagram account. If those were unavailable, we tried to find a link including the most information. If you know of a better link that represents any of the above candidates, please let us know.