MEMPHIS, Tennessee — In Tuesday's Ransom Note: give it up for the Shelby County Election Commission.
I know our election commission has taken a lot of heat over the years, but it seems for early voting it's about as prepared as it can be for an election whose turnout is expected to top the previous record of 65% in 1964.
Shelby County will have 26 early voting sites. I was surprised to learn that's twice as many as Davidson County.
Its readiness is even catching the attention of the state election coordinator.
“Shelby County honestly is only required to open one per state law. So they are exceeding it, and they needed to exceed it for this election under pandemic circumstances,” said Tennessee Election Coordinator Mark Goins.
Officials are betting with all the talk about delays in the mail most of you will want to vote in person, especially since Shelby County voters fell in love with early voting even before COVID-1919. In 2016, 71% of voters chose to cast ballots during early voting. I early voted in the August primary, and I have to say every precaution was taken and I felt completely safe.
Of course what matters most is that you vote, but if you do vote early, I predict you'll be glad you did.
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