Last minute push pays off with huge voter registration on The Murfreesboro Post

Sidebar Ads

Last minute push pays off with huge voter registration

Related Articles

Black named to Ways and Means Committee

City Cafe releases straw poll results

November Election Guide

Black annointed by National Federation of Independent Business

RuCo turns red officially

Voting runs smoothly in morning hours

County General and State Primary Election results

GOP wants county sheriff to resign

Poll: Haslam leads candidates in last week of early voting

MIKE PIRTLE: Florida still beautiful

View All

By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer

Posted: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 3:47 pm

Last minute push pays off with huge voter registration | ELECTION

Election Administrator Hooper Penuel sorts through a stack of registration applications.

Monday officially ended voter registration season for the November Presidential election and Rutherford County broke records with the number of people who registered to vote.

Rutherford County Election Commission is currently buried under a mountain of paperwork from mail-in and walk-in registrations, Elections Administrator Hooper Penuel said.

“Yesterday was a good day for democracy,” Penuel said. “A lot of people are excited about this election. A lot of first time voters and others calling just making sure they’re registered to vote.

“It was a very busy day. We processed 1,163 applications to vote, and people dropped off 550 to 600 applications,” Penuel said, noting they also received stacks of applications in the mail and sacks full from drop off

Early Voting Sites

Murfreesboro SportsCom - 2310 Memorial Blvd., Murfreesboro

Election Commission Annex - 426 E. Vine St. Murfreesboro

Agricultural Center inside Old Fort Park, across from Kids Castle, 1026 Golf Ln., Murfreesboro

Tennessee Rehabilitation Center - 460 9th Ave, Smyrna

La Vergne Civic Auditorium - 283 Old Nashville Highway, La Vergne

Rutherford County Election Commission Office - No. 1 Public Square South, next to Big B Cleaners

sites like the library and post office.

Currently more than 143,000 Rutherford countians are registered to vote in November and the commission has several thousand more to process before early voting starts Oct. 15.

Voters are eager this year to cast ballots in the presidential race, as well as for other federal, state and local offices, Penuel said. Smyrna will also vote on whether to allow package liquor sales.

Early voting starts Wednesday, Oct. 15 at the SportsCom, the Election Commission Annex on Vine Street, the Agricultural Center in Old Fort Park, Tennessee Rehabilitation Center in Smyrna and the La Vergne Civic Auditorium. These locations will be open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays until Thursday, Oct. 30.

The Rutherford County Election Commission office on the Square will also be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays during early voting.

Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.

Tagged under ELECTION