The August 6 Knox County General Election and State and Primary Election is rapidly approaching. In fact, early voting begins Friday and continues through August 1.
Whether this is your first election or your fiftieth, here are 5 steps to help you vote with confidence.
Step 1: Determine If You’re Registered
While this may seem elementary, one of the most important things you need to do before you vote is make sure you are actually registered to vote. Nobody wants to show up at the voting location and find out they can’t vote.
Of course, this doesn’t apply to those of you who vote in every election, but there may be some newbies here…people who have never voted before or who are voting in Knox County for the first time. You can find out if you are registered to vote by clicking here.
Step 2: Know Your Candidates
While this is step 2, it actually is the most important step. Think about this – How many times have you voted for a name on a yard sign, only to find out later they weren’t who they claimed to be?
For our country to survive, it needs an educated electorate, not just people who vote based on yard signs or mail cards. That is why KCCRTN exists: to educate and inform voters so they can make educated decisions when they vote. We’ve provided a blog post that walks you through the August 2026 ballot so there are no surprises. You can access that here.
That’s why we have also provided our 2026 August Primary Endorsements Card located on the homepage of our website. If you don’t feel confident researching the candidates on your own, you can use our endorsement card with the confidence that each candidate we have endorsed has gone through a rigorous process to secure that endorsement.
How To Do Your Own Research
Want to do your own research? That’s awesome. Here are some recommendations of where you can begin researching the candidates.
- For general information about candidates and issues, we suggest the Tennessee Conservative News. Since its inception in 2020, The Tennessee Conservative has become Tennessee’s largest Conservative Republican news alternative. Divided into State and National News sections, the Tennessee Conservative provides voters with an overview of issues and candidates.
- Tennessee Stands – If you want to know how your state legislator has voted, visit Tennessee Stands Legislative Report Card. It includes the voting scores and additional information for all 132 members of the Tennessee General Assembly from a conservative perspective. It also has a series of three blog posts that explore the campaign finances of all three gubernatorial candidates.
- IVoterGuide.com – Perhaps one of the easiest ways to research a candidate is the iVoterGuide website. It gives you a quick way to see where your candidate falls on the “conservative gauge” – are they liberal, moderate, conservative, or verified conservative? The website is easy to navigate; you simply enter your address, and it takes you to “My Voter Guide,” which provides general voting information along with candidate information in the national, statewide, and state races. One thing to note: some of the candidates do not have information posted.
- Tennessee Right to Life – Tennessee Right to Life’s Voting Records lets you see how your legislator voted on legislation dealing with pro-life issues during legislative sessions.
These are just a few of the available resources to research candidates for the upcoming elections. In addition, most candidates have websites providing their platform or beliefs.
Step 3 – Make Plans to Vote Early
Once you’ve determined you are eligible to vote and you know who you’re voting for, it’s time to make an important decision – do you vote early or vote on Election Day? While many people choose to wait until Election Day, early voting provides you the opportunity to pick a day, time and location that’s convenient for you. It also avoids the possibility of an injury or emergency surgery before election day that would prevent you from voting. In addition, if you’ve had a change of address since the last election, you can change your address and vote at the same time.
Here’s an important note. Some of the locations for early voting have changed. In addition, some locations have differing hours. You can find the most convenient location for you by clicking here. Before leaving to vote, check here to make sure your location is open.
Step 4 – Don’t Forget Your ID
This might not be a problem for men, but we women are constantly changing purses. Before you walk out the door to head to your voting location, double-check that you have your ID. It will save you time and prevent embarrassment.
According to the Tennessee election website, “Tennesseans voting early or on Election Day must bring valid photo identification with them to the polls. A driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, by the Tennessee state government, or by the federal government are acceptable even if they are expired. College student IDs are not acceptable.”
Step 5 – Some Final Notes to Make Voting Trouble-Free
Here is some additional information that may save you some embarrassment: voters are not allowed to wear t-shirts or buttons that specifically promote a candidate inside the polling location and within 100 feet of the entrance. You may wear clothing that talks generally about voting or patriotism.
While you can use your phone to access your list of candidates, you are not allowed to have telephone conversations or take photos while in the polling location.
If you make a mistake on your ballot, don’t despair. As long as you tell an election official before you cast your ballot, you can get up to three replacement ballots. That’s a lot of mistakes.
And if you have children under 17, feel free to bring them with you. It’s a great opportunity to show them how our government works.
Congratulations! You’ve made it through our list. Now go out and vote with confidence, and don’t forget to share this post with three of your favorite people. Who knows, they might cast the deciding vote.