What the data says about early voters in our observation area (so far)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Voters in Tennessee and Georgia have been voting early for a full week, with early voting only lasting about a week.

We now have a clearer picture of who voted in each county in our viewing area.

All of the data you will read about here comes from the Tennessee and Georgia Secretary of State websites, which contain a wealth of interactive maps and fees. You can also dive deep into the numbers yourself by clicking here:

One thing you should keep in mind: The last presidential election in 2020 is a rather difficult year to compare due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

EARLY VOTERS IN YOUNG GEORGIA RISE

The first data point we noticed when we checked the websites on Friday was a significantly large number of voters in northwest Georgia counties in our observation area (Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Whitfield and Murray counties) who were younger than 14 Years are 30, which overall outweigh other age groups by a large margin.

In fact, as of Friday, nearly 24,000 votes had been cast by voters between the ages of 18 and 24 in this region.

This applies to all five districts combined. Catoosa County spokesman John Pless told us Friday that voters between the ages of 60 and 74 are the largest demographic in the county.

The gender gap is less pronounced

Early voting numbers in some swing states show that women are significantly outnumbering men.

But that is not the case in our observation area in northwest Georgia.

The number of female voters is almost 10,000 higher than the number of male voters, but the split is closer to 50:50 than in other areas.

But in Catoosa County, 54% are women and 46% are men, according to Pless.

We also asked Pless whether there were any differences this time compared to 2020.

He told us…

Back then, more people voted by mail/absentee than today, when more people want to vote earlier.

Pless added that Election Day traditionally has the largest voter turnout.

I don’t know if we can say whether Team A or Team B will win in that particular time, but it just seems to indicate that there is a lot of excitement in that particular race.”

In Georgia, voters have until November 1st to vote early.

EARLY VOTING IN OUR TENNESSEE COUNTIES

Tennessee's secretary of state provided data comparing early voting this time to early voting after the first week of 2020.

It shows an increase in early voting numbers for each of the Tennessee counties in our viewing area except one, McMinn County.

Marion County saw the highest percentage increase in our Tennessee viewing area at more than 10%, closely followed by Hamilton County.

Here's a breakdown:

• Marion: Plus 10.53%
• Hamilton: Up 8.79%
• Polk: Up 7.26%
• Sequatchie: Up 5.20%
• Bledsoe: Up 4.55%
• Grundy: Up 2.72%
• Meigs: Up 2.68%
• Rhea: Up 2.38%
• Bradley: Up 0.66%
• McMinn: Down 5.38%

Check out the data below:

UTC student Shaniya Herman says she saw many students on campus excited to vote early.

A lot of progress has been made on my campus. We had several events and even a day on campus where several people allowed students to register to vote. I feel like my generation is very opinionated, has a lot to say and wants to do something about it.

The last day for early voting in Tennessee is Thursday, October 31st.