Early voting has been underway in Blount Co. since Wed. Jan. 16th and ends this Thursday, Jan. 31st. Through last Thursday Jan. 24th, only 1,378 people had voted early. This is about 2.3% of the registered voters in Blount Count.

Voting picked up a little on Wednesday and Thursday after Thompson dropped out. Apparently some people were waiting to see what he would do before voting.

The Judge Mike Meares campaign has launched their official website at www.mearesforjudge.com. There's a lot of good information, including an interesting "voter education" section on how the court system works. Check it out.

Also, the Committee to Elect Mike Meares is now accepting contributions. You can send your contribution (up to the maximum of $1,000.00) to:

Committee to Elect Mike Meares
c/o Martha Meares, Treasurer
212 High St.
Maryville, TN 37804

This is exciting. There are now, apparently, enough voters in Blount County to justify a second (2nd I say) early voting location.

According to the Maryville Daily Times,

There is a new early voting satellite location at the Everett Recreation Center, 318 S. Everett High Road. The early voting hours at the Everett location will be from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The courthouse hours will be 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Early voting will be held through Jan. 31.

TACIR released a report on Tennessee voting systems last week. Read a summary and commentary at TennViews. Also, Joe Powell raises some good questions.

The Daily Times has an article on the upcoming 2008 primaries and elections.

It incorrectly states that the last day to register for the Feb. 5th primary is January 4th.

The last day to register is Monday, January 7th, according to the Blount Co. Election Commission website and the Tennessee Secretary of State website.

The Blount County Election Commission has an online voter registration form that you can fill out, print, and mail or hand deliver. I'd recommend hand delivering it to the Election Commission office at the courthouse (383 Court Street, Maryville) due to the holidays and possible mail delays. You can print blank copies to give to others who need to get registered.